Divorced Hermione
by xxKLxx
Summary: A divorce rattles Hermione in her mid 30s. Alone and with 11 year old twins about to start Hogwarts, what will Hermione make of her life? When Ginny drags her to a night club, what will Hermione do when she remembers dancing with a certain blonde? Heartbreak, betrayal, hope, lust, confusion, Ron bashing. Electricity/text compatible universe. Dramione slow build up. Happy ending.
1. Chapter 1

**This is a repost of the original first chapter, as i realised almost 12 months down the track, thanks to some very observant readers that i had made a significant error in the plot. **

**I began this story as an escape and a method of self care due to my complicated career. Sometimes, when you work with complex troubled people, you need an outlet. This was that for me. And it continues to be. So, please enjoy 30 something Hermione and watch how this underappreciated housewife gets her groove back. **

**As always, please disregard obvious typos and please, comment and review as necessary. **

**xxklxx**

* * *

Hermione waved as her two children walked down the garden path and hopped into the car. She shook her head, wondering how she was going to pass the time without them in the house. She loved them fiercely, like no one else she had ever loved before and hadn't ever been apart from them.

Logically, Hermione knew that, given that they the twins had just turned 11, that they would be going to Hogwarts in a few short months, but it hurt her all the same that this arrangement had come so soon.

Hermione stood on the front step of her 4 bedroom, 2 story home long after the car that her children rode in, had left the small cul de sac. Life had changed significantly for Hermione in recent months. She strolled over to the swinging seat that hung in all of its cliché glory at the end of the large verandah and sat, letting the toes of her slip-on shoes drag clumsily along the wooden decking. She had been accused of "Americanizing" the house that she had bought, but Hermione didn't mind. She loved her house. And one thing she loved the most was that the house was devoid of the memories of the last 18 months.

Hermione had been the pillar of strength and maturity during the demise of her marriage to Ron. In the beginning, their relationship was a whirlwind, filled with highs and lows, travel, accomplishments and remarkable events. They got married when they felt like they needed something more and when they felt like they needed something more again, they started a family.

Ron had been adamant about having a large family, just like his own. Hermione would have been happy to have 3, perhaps 4 children, but fate knew that things would be different. Hermione's pregnancy was horrendous. She was admitted to a muggle hospital early on and placed on bed rest for the last half of her pregnancy. The couple were terrified but elated to discover early on that they were having triplets. They had the support of the whole Weasley family, Harry, Ginny and their family included, and before long, the due date had arrived. The birth resulted in tragedy, with one of the babies not surviving the traumatic birth. Hermione always felt that Ron blamed her, as Hermione opted for a muggle birth and it was her body that let her down when it came time to have the babies.

In fact, there was no way that their son, Colin could have survived, as his tiny body had stopped developing towards the end of the pregnancy, going unnoticed till the birth.

Due to complications, Hermione had suffered extreme scarring and damage to her reproductive organs and it had meant that there was less than one per cent chance of her ever conceiving another child. This prevented the couple from having the large family that Hermione know Ron always dreamt of.

Hermione thought about this, as she had over the last 18 months and wondered if it was something that contributed to their marriage breakdown. Hermione had tried to find a way to blame herself for what happened but, the more she thought about it, the more she was confident that she had been the perfect wife. That, Hermione thought, might have been the factor which drove Ron into the arms of a 20 something blonde witch.

Hermione had caught Ron cheating on her, purely by chance. Ron had told Hermione that he was going to be travelling for work purposes. He often went away with George to investigate new locations for the joke shop, which they now jointly owned. This one weekend in particular, Ron had left the family home, kissed his wife and children goodbye and disapparated as usual. What Ron didn't realise, was that George was intending on making a visit to their home to celebrate the news of his and Angelina's 2nd pregnancy. Upon seeing George on their doorstep and seeing his confused look when Hermione insisted he had gone away for work, Hermione did some investigating and discovered that Ron had used his muggle credit card to pay for a hotel room, which Hermione quickly flooed to. Bursting in on Ron with his hands on another woman, their clothes on the floor and her moaning his name should have made Hermione call it quits on the spot. She almost did, but thinking of her children and hearing Ron's pleas and cries for her to forgive him, she agreed to make it work.

They arranged for couples counselling and group therapy, and for a while, it appeared to be working. Ron became more affectionate towards Hermione and more engaging in the family dynamics. It was short lived, however, as not 12 months later, Ron was spotted with the blonde witch when he was supposed to be at work, and Hermione swiftly called it quits.

Hermione was known to be a kind forgiving woman, but she lived by the saying 'fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me'. Ron had certainly made a fool of Hermione many many times and she would not allow it to happen once more.

The 6 months that followed saw Ron spiral into a deep depression. He was hospitalized for self-harm and attempts to end his life, but with weeks of psychotherapy and a combination of wizarding and muggle methods to assist his deep seeded self-hatred, he was able to become a functioning adult again. Hermione knew that she would always love him. He would first and foremost be the best friend she had for 7 years before they were linked romantically, and he would always be the father of her children. Despite how much he had made a fool of her, embarrassed her, made her the topic of wizarding conversation everywhere, Hermione made a conscious effort to be on friendly terms with Ron, for the sake of their children.

Now that Ron had maintained a stable life for a few weeks and found himself a decent place to live, Hermione had agreed to let the children spend each second weekend with him. Hermione had no reason to doubt Ron's ability to care for their children, afterall, it was 2 nights a fortnight. She just hoped that he didn't bring his blonde witch over while they were there. That would kill them.

So Hermione entered her home and stood in the middle of the living room of the house she bought after the divorce settlement. Everything was new. She didn't keep anything. All the furniture, the house, even the towels and blankets reminded her of a life that was a lie.

What Ron didn't want, she gave to a charity that helped the homeless. It cost her every cent of the settlement she had received from the divorce plus a small amount of money her parents were able to provide her, but she was secure in what she had. The house was a beautiful 3 bedroom house on a large block of land. It was clutter free but still homely. The children both had a room of their own and there was a room spare for guests. Downstairs, the family room had been transformed into Hermione's library, something she had always wanted. Ron had never agreed to have a library in their marrital house, and now that Hermione was free to make all the choices for her own life, she lined the walls of the unused family room with shelves, placed a desk in the middle and a comfy arm chair to one side.

As she sat down on the most comfortable sofa she could afford, she closed her eyes and absorbed the silence. It was eerie. She contemplated calling Rose and asking if they were ok, but she knew that would make her seem obsessive.

She looked at her phone, one of the modern muggle contraptions that Rose and Hugo insisted they have so friends could have play dates, and pressed the button for her contacts. Scrolling through, she passed a work colleague, an old Hogwarts friend and stopped at Ginny. Surely Ginny would be tied up with their three children, James, Albus and Lily, but she sent a quick text anyway, and continued scrolling through the list. Before she could reach Luna, Ginny had sent a message back in response.

G – Harry is watching the children, we're going out.

H – What are you thinking? Dinner?

G – No way. Cocktails!

H – We are too old for a night on the town Gin.

G – speak for yourself. Be ready at 7.

Hermione giggled to herself at Ginny's last message. She was always so bossy. Hermione was glad when Ginny didn't disown Hermione, following the divorce. She would be well within her right to, but Ginevra Potter was a woman with amazing morals and kindness that shows no bounds.

Hermione took time getting herself ready that evening. She hadn't been out in such a long time. In fact, Hermione struggled to remember the last time she went out for a night on the town. She took her curls and styled them into long waves and applied some make up that, ordinarily may have been over the top, but for a night out, it was just what she needed. Ginny apparated to Hermione's house at 6:30 with a large bag in tow. Ginny was one of the very few people who was able to apparate directly into the house. Not even Harry could breach the charms that Hermione had expertly set up. Ginny's and Hermione's DNA were linked with the spell, which is why she could pass through the wards.

"Hey sis, I knew you would have all your boring clothes out for the night, so I've bought you some slutty dresses… here" she said, entering Hermione's bedroom.

Ginny threw the bag down on Hermione's king size 4 poster bed. The contents spilled out and Hermione immediately recognised some of Ginny's dresses from the days when she would go out with the Holyhead Harpies for group events. Ginny was ranked number 3 quidditch player in the world, however had been on hiatus for several years to have a family. The life of a quidditch star, who happened to be married to the most famous wizard of all time, was all glitz and glamor and Ginny had the dresses to prove it.

Hermione looked through the assortment of clothing items and picked out what she thought to be a suitable outfit for the night. It was modest and covered her bust and her legs.

Ginny shook her head but went along with her choice.

"Its fine. Not something I would wear to find a rebound guy after ending a 15-year relationship, but it'll do. Your fantastic makeup well and truly makes up for it" Ginny said, leaving the room so Hermione could get dressed.

"I'm not looking for a rebound" Hermione called through the door.

Ginny simply laughed from the stairs.

Looking at the dress she had picked out and considering Ginny's comment, Hermione tossed it aside and chose a different dress for the evening. It wasn't that she was in agreeance with Ginny. She definitely was not in the market for a rebound guy, but she also wanted to feel good about herself as well. She was absolutely not in her 20s anymore, even though she had the body of a 20-year-old, thanks to 12 months working out her anger at the gym.

Hermione slipped into a tight blue dress and stepped into the heels which were almost too high and headed downstairs.

"Woah girl, you look amazing. That dress... Merlin" Ginny said as Hermione entered the room.

"I can change. I feel ridiculous" Hermione said.

"Don't. You. Dare!" Ginny commanded, before pouring 4 shots of a steaming alcoholic liquid.

"I'm not drinking that. What is it?" Hermione questioned.

"Just something George gave me. It will loosen you up a bit"

"I'm not wound up"

"Not saying you are" Ginny smirked, as she handed Hermione a glass and chinked it with her own. "Cheers" she added.

"To being unwound" Hermione said, as she drank the shot in one. It was surprisingly delicious. Only a slight burn but it was sweet and had a flavour that Hermione couldn't place.

"Strawberry" Ginny said.

"Really?"

"Yeah, A concoction of Georges. He is thinking of branching off into liquor. So far so good yes?" Ginny said as the girls chinked a second glass with each other.

"I can't believe I'm actually drinking something George made in his garage" Hermione said, as she downed the second drink.

"What would 6th year Hermione say?" Ginny laughed.

"Something incredibly horrid and obnoxious, probably" she said, feeling a warm buzz descend throughout her body.

"Well, its now seven thirty, shall we go then?" Ginny asked.

"Definitely" Hermione said, smoothing her dress in the hall mirror and adjusting her cleavage.

"Girl, you're so lucky to have those" Ginny said.

"What? Boobs?" she asked with a laugh.

"Yes! Harry won't let me have mine done. He says they 'fine the way they are'" She said, mocking Harry's voice.

"Well, they are. But why should it matter what Harry thinks? That's probably the only thing I did without Ron's approval while we were together. I breastfed those twins for 2 years, I was damn well going to get decent boobs afterwards" Hermione said.

The two women laughed as they held hands and disapparated.

When she stopped spinning, Hermione looked around and realised they had arrived out the front of a wizarding night club.

"Really?" is all she could say, as Ginny dragged her to the front of the queue.

"You two know you have to get in line, don't cha's?" said a big burly wizard at the doors.

"We know that, but you need to check the list, I'm certain we're on it" Ginny said, tossing her long red hair over her shoulder.

"You got wands?" he asked.

Hermione and Ginny tapped their wands on the parchment that the security guard held out and their names and ages displayed immediately.

"Right, well, Mrs Potter is it? You ain't on our list" he said.

"I'm absolutely certain you'll find that we are. If we have to call the owner, you'll find yourself in a lot of trouble" she said.

At this point, the patrons in the line began getting annoyed. They were shouting about Hermione and Ginny cutting in, angry about waiting, annoyed at this sudden interruption to their process.

The security guard tapped a small box on the side of the doorway and instantly, a face appeared. Hermione recognised him immediately and grinned to herself. How could she have forgotten?

"Bevil! Let them in, will you? They are special guests. And show them to the VIP lounge" came the voice of Neville Longbottom.

Neville had ventured into clubs some time ago in the muggle community and had now opened the first ever wizarding night club, complete with electricity that was not disturbed by the patron's magic. It was a first and quite frankly, something that Hermione assumed should have been a thing years ago.

The club was incredible. It was quite dark but lit enough so you could see where you were going. The walls were dark and affixed with art that suited the venue. There were framed and autographed photos all around the walls and in them, the subjects waved as the women walked past.

There were tables and chairs places sporadically and an area ahead with comfortable lounges and velvet rope, partitioning it off. Hermione and Ginny were led to this section and given a complimentary bottle of the club's finest mead as an apology.

The women poured themselves a glass and settled in for a fantastic night.

Hermione was tapping her foot to the House music, as she sipped her drink. She watched people flood in from the street and take up their space within the club. There were a few people she recognised and many she didn't. She thought at some point that she had seen Ron's blonde whore, but it wasn't so. She wouldn't let that put a dampener on this night, and quickly shook herself out of those thoughts.

Before long, the venue was packed to capacity and Hermione and Ginny's bottle of mead was almost empty. Hermione felt an incredible buzz throughout her body which was a clear sign to her that she was well on her way to being drunk.

When the music really kicked it up a notice, Ginny took Hermione onto the dance floor and, despite initial self-conscious fears, Hermione began to move. Really move, as though it were a release. As her body moved, swayed, shook and bounced to the music, she found her mind free of worry, free of concern and fear.

This was her moment. This was Hermione's chance to completely be herself. When the song ended the women returned to their table and found their bottle to be full once again.

"Refilling bottles. Clever" Hermione called to Ginny over the sound of a new song.

"Water?" Ginny asked.

"Definitely" Hermione answered.

After downing a glass of water each, the women returned to the dancefloor, owning it as their own, dancing Hermione's cares away. The more she drank the less inhibited she was. As the women moved around the dance floor, Hermione found herself being led by different men. She didn't mind, as the men were all chivalrous. She found herself backing into a tall man, whose face she couldn't see. He had his back to her, but soon turned and placed his hands on her hips as she swayed. She still had not seen his face, nor did she care to. At this moment, each person on the dancefloor was a nameless, faceless entity. She danced with this unknown man for almost 2 songs before a drunk Ginny dragged her away.

"Do you know who you're dancing with?" Ginny asked, laughing out loud as they reached their VIP area.

"No. Nor do I care to" Hermione replied, with a grin. "I'm enjoying myself".

"So… You don't want me to tell you that you were dancing with M…"

"No, I don't. Now I think I ought to get you home before Harry kicks my ass" Hermione said. "Its 2 in the morning".

Ginny smiled as Hermione led her towards the disapparation point of the club. She had had loads of fun and could see herself coming back again and perhaps staying until the sun came up, but for now, this was enough. As they reached the departure point and waited in line, Hermione turned looked into the crowd of people still on the dancefloor. Ginny was still giggling away, as if she knew something Hermione didn't.

"What?" Hermione asked with a grin.

"You don't want to know so I'm not telling you" Ginny responded.

"Well, clearly I do"

"uhh, fine. Look over at the crowd" Ginny said, as they approached the front of the line. "Who do you see?"

Hermione focused her blurry vision and scanned the crowd, looking for a hint of whatever Ginny might be carrying on about. She saw some very handsome men and was quite pleased with herself that she had managed to dance with at least some of them.

"You'll get it, I'm sure" Ginny teased.

"I seriously don't see what you're talking about Ginny"

"Look over at the bar. Just a little to the left… there… see?" Ginny said as the women stood on the disapparation point.

At that moment, holding onto Ginny, ready to disapparate, Hermione's eyes fell on the person she was sure Ginny was talking about. Just as Ginny turned on the spot, Hermione locked eyes with the man she had once known and loathed and as she was pulled into the spin of disapparation, she saw him raise a glass to her.

Stumbling into her own living room, Hermione was seething with confusion.

"What… Why? I mean… What?" she was lost for words. A first.

"I tried to tell you" Ginny giggled.

"Merlin Ginny, you're giggling like a schoolgirl" Hermione said with half a smile.

"I know, because its so funny. Who would have thought… Hermione Granger, divorced mum of two dancing with none other than..."

"Draco Malfoy" Hermione said, kicking her shoes off with a sigh.


	2. Chapter 2

**Next chapter is up peeps. Thanks for reading and reviewing. I check daily when I'm in the midst of a story so i do see them and i do appreciate them. Our poor Hemrione is really struggling and you'll see the lengths she'll go to towards the end of the chapter for some comfort. **

**Thank you so much for the reviews - **

**muzzarae - thank you so much. **

**Guest - you want more? Here you go :-) Working on the next 2 chapters as I upload this. **

**AzureAlquimista - Such a shame that you feel that way about my work. Unfortunately, not everyone can like everything that everyone writes and i am totally ok with that. As is said to you in the PM i sent you, you're welcome to just not read it and move on, there is actually no need to post harsh comments. I took your advice and updated the labels so now no one will read it unless they know what its about. I'd love to read something of yours someday, but you don't have anything to read. Funny that. **

Hermione woke the next morning, feeling sick, sore and sorry for herself. She barely remembered how much she had to drink and was just grateful she had made it home. She dragged herself out of bed and vomited in the bathroom that was adjoining to her bedroom, before staggering to the kitchen to find some pepper up potion.

Ginny had apparated home shortly after arriving at Hermione's house the previous night, which Hermione was thankful for. She wanted nothing more than to curl up on the comfy armchair in the library and read a good book.

That's exactly what Hermione did for the rest of the day. With a blanket on her lap and a book in her hands, she spent the entire Saturday in the beautiful world of her favourite authors.

On Sunday, Hermione ventured out to do some shopping and run some errands. It was interesting, doing the food shopping without her children. It took half the time and less than half the stress. Her children, while she raised them to be polite and well behaved, always seemed to ask for everything she didn't want or need to buy.

Banishing the groceries to her home, Hermione wandered through the muggle shopping centre, picking up bits and pieces here and there. She bought some new clothes for work and a few pairs of shoes. She found some outfits that she could wear on another night out if she were to venture out again some time, so Ginny could have her '_slutty dresses' _back.

By the time Hermione got home, it was late in the afternoon and she was expecting the children back any time.

She had packed away her shopping and was about to sit down with a cup of tea when she heard the unmistakable sound of Ron's V8 engine, roar into her driveway. He had used the divorce money to buy himself his dream car after cheaping out on a townhouse. Hermione was not bothered though, as long as he was happy and the children were happy, she was happy.

She headed outside to the veranda and smiled when she saw the happy faces of her children exit the car. The weekend had gone well. Ron got out of the car, and for a moment, was not recognisable. He had on dark sunglasses and wore a simple round neck t-shirt and black jeans. He seemed to be growing some sort of beard and had his hair cut short. Something Hermione had never seen him do before. He looked younger than she had seen him in years and somewhat hip.

"You're looking very different today" she said in a friendly gesture.

"Hmm? Oh, just trying something new" he shrugged.

"Well, it suits you. You look good" she said honestly. She hadn't actually said that to him in years.

Ron just looked at her with a curious look on his face, as if he were trying to figure something out before grabbing the children's bags from the boot of the car.

"Rose read that book for school and Hugo finished the story he was writing for English" he said.

"Oh, really? That's really good, thanks for doing that" she said. She had half expected them to come home and rush through all their homework that night.

"I meant what I said Hermione, this is a parenting partnership. I'm not just some weekend dad, I'm their parent as much as you are and it might not seem like it, but I want them to do well in school" he said.

"Nan came over" Rose said, as she kissed Hermione hello.

"I see" said Hermione with a smile on her lips. "Well, regardless, I'm happy that this weekend went well. Hugo, did you have a good time?" she asked her son.

"It was ok. We hung out with Alby and Lily" he said.

"Oh that's nice. Uncle Harry came over did he?" she asked.

"No, we went to the Burrow for tea" he said.

Hermine looked to Ron and remembered his hesitation at having the children in his care, because he had no idea what to cook for them. She had always taken care of that. Even though she wasn't very good in the beginning, Hermione had perfected the art of preparing meals over the years.

It was Hermione who suggested he take them to his parent's place for tea so they can still see them as often as they always had. Molly and Arthur had made a tradition of having Saturday night feasts at their place once a month and inviting the whole family. It was a way for them to ensure the family stayed close.

"How were your cousins?" Hermione asked, knowing that there must have been loads of kids there.

"Well, we only saw Fred and Roxy…" Hugo began.

"Merlin mum, Roxy is so cute, she can walk now and everything" Rose said.

"Wow, that is impressive" Hermione said.

"As I was saying…" Hugo began, glaring at his sister, "We only saw Fred, Roxy, Alby and Lily… Oh, and Lucy" he said.

"Well I suppose the rest of the children would be finishing up the school year at Hogwarts, wouldn't they?" Hermione said thinking of the rest of the children she hasn't seen in 18 months.

"Yes, James, Vic, Dom, Louis and Molly. Can't say that I wish I was them. They're probably all doing exams and stuff" Hugo said. Hermione smiled to herself. He definitely had his fathers' attitude towards schooling; however, Rose was all Hermione. Not that Hugo wasn't smart, he just wasn't that interested or excited about school as Rose was.

"When is Charlie going to settle down?" Hermione asked Ron.

"He's married to his job" Ron said, shrugging. Hermione knew otherwise, however. In recent years, Charlie had confided in Ginny and Hermione that he had actually been in several relationships, but he didn't have the heart to tell his family that those relationships were all with other men. Hermione and Ginny had tried to help him on many occasions and told him they were 100 per cent supportive of him, but Charlie felt that if he had told him family, it would change everything.

"Well, that's enough Weasley catch up don't you think?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, I guess. Well, tell everyone I said hello and extend my best wishes, wont you?" Hermione asked.

"I will" Ron said, as he got back into his car.

That evening, Rose and Hugo told Hermione all about the weekend they had. Hermione's fears were all extinguished, as the children were well cared for, did their homework and had plenty to keep them occupied. There was not a word about any blonde bimbo, which also pleased Hermione.

The following week travelled by relatively quickly. Before Hermione knew it, it was Friday. Rose and Hugo had a good week at school with no incidents.

Hermione's work week had been interesting, to say the least. For the last 12 months, she had been working as member of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She was currently working on new laws that eradicated old fashioned pure blood laws. This was all following her rise in the ranks to head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, where she had valiantly fought for the rights of House elves to receive payment for their services.

While she enjoyed her first job immensely, there were times when it would often become monotonous. During her divorce, one of the many things that had to change was her career. She loved what she was doing and had done some exceptional work within that role, but Hermione always knew that she had more to offer and so when the offer of a transfer came up, she took it.

That weekend, Hermione took Rose and Hugo to London for a weekend adventure. Realising they hadn't actually done any sightseeing in the area in years, they did a hop on, hop off bus tour which explored the city's greatest sights. They spent Saturday night in a motel and travelled home on Sunday.

The following week went by in much the same way as the previous one had. Hermione and the children had dinner at Harry and Ginny's one of the nights during the week, where Ginny had convinced Hermione to go out again that weekend. This time, they would take a few friends and organise it properly with Neville before just showing up.

By late Friday, Rose and Hugo had been picked up by Ron, who was once again, dressed like a younger man and nowhere like what the old 'Ron' would have normally looked like. Hermione had arranged for Ginny and the rest of their friends to come over and have some drinks at her house before heading out. At 7:30, Ginny arrived and was stunned to see Hermione wearing a brand new dress with her curls swept up and out of her face and make up looking as though a professional had done it.

"How on earth did you do that?" Ginny asked.

"I watched some YouTube tutorials" Hermione shrugged.

"You look incredible" She said, "I'm only a touch jealous" she added.

"Here, come to the bathroom and I'll show you a thing or two" Hermione said.

She added some dark shadows here and there and blended some colours over Ginny's eyelids before revealing her to herself in the mirror.

"What do you think?" Hermione asked.

"My friend, you are in the wrong career" Ginny said.

"You're hilarious, but I like my job" Hermione said.

They headed back downstairs and into the kitchen where Hermione had had some drinks already poured.

"Where is everybody else?" she asked Ginny.

"Oh, Luna, Padma, Pavarti and some others are going to meet us there. Nev is on his way" Ginny said, taking one of the glasses and drinking the drink all at once. "Woo" she exclaimed, shaking her head, "that was a strong drink" she said.

"Well you weren't supposed to drink it that fast" Hermione said.

At that, there was a knock at the front door.

Hermione rushed to answer it and revealed Neville Longbottom, wearing a classy suit and tie, holding a bottle of the same delicious alcohol they had 2 weeks ago at his bar.

"Nev! Come on in, we're just getting started" Ginny called from the kitchen.

Hermione showed him through and handed him a drink as he handed her the bottle.

"This was so sweet of you, but you dint have to" Hermione said.

"It's the least I could do" he said, shrugging.

After an hour of chatting away and gossiping about who is with who, who has children, where everyone is working and who wasn't working, the trio were about to leave.

"Hang on, what if a certain blonde someone is there tonight?" Ginny asked Hermione.

"What on earth are you talking about?" Hermione asked, looking at the red haired woman who was grinning ear to ear.

"Oh Merlin, you forgot!" Ginny said, covering her mouth with her hand to suppress a laugh.

"Spit it out Gin" Hermione said, hands on hips.

"What happened? What don't I know?" Neville asked.

"Nev, last time we were at your club, Hermione was getting down and dirty dancing with Malfoy" Ginny said.

"Draco Malfoy?" Neville asked.

"None other" Ginny said.

"What? That's not possible. I would know. I'd remember" Hermione stammered, becoming defensive. She hadn't seen Draco Malfoy in 17 years after he disappeared overseas when he escaped an Azkaban sentence.

"He actually comes to the club a lot" Neville shrugged. "There is a good chance he'll be there tonight" he added.

"Well, I'm definitely not going anywhere near that creep" Hermione said.

"I wouldn't be so quick to judge. It's been a long time and he has been through a lot" Neville said.

Hermione just gazed at Neville, wondering how and why he was suddenly the biggest advocate for pureblood fanatic rights.

Without another word about Malfoy, the three of them held hands and dispparated to the inside of the club.

"How did we get in here?" Hermione asked.

"Perks of being the boss and the owner" Neville said with a grin that bore no signs of the crooked teeth he had as a teen.

"Neville, when did you become so handsome?" Hermione asked.

"When I grew up and realised I could control how people saw me" he answered simply as they walked through his club.

Hermione completely understood what he meant. She had been Hermione Weasley for so long, someone who was renowned for being part of the trio or married to Ron. Now it was her time to shine, to be someone on her own. To make people see the Hermione that she wanted them to see. She didn't need to alter her appearance, although with the amount of makeup she had on, she was hardly recognisable, but the thing she wanted to alter was the perception she put out to the world.

Yes, she was a divorcee, she was single mum, but she was also an attractive woman, a hard worker and someone who craved something, some kind of affection or admiration for being _just Hermione_.

This was the night she would get that, she decided.

The group assembled at the VIP area where a few people from their friend circle in their DA days had gathered. It was almost like a reunion. Hermione was in her element. The group finished a bottle of mead in minutes and before their eyes, the bottle refilled itself. The music was going and once again, as before, Hermione felt her foot tapping to the music and the familiar pull of the dancefloor. She could sense Ginny's desperation to get out as well and the two of them departed from the group and onto the dancefloor.

It didn't take long for the floor to fill with people. It was far more crowded than the 2 weeks prior, but it made it better. Once again, the more she danced and drank, the more the people around her turned into faceless masses. She danced with many people and had forgotten completely about Malfoy.

After a long set of songs, Hermione and Ginny returned to the VIP lounge to rest their tired feet and drink some more.

"I need the bathroom" Hermione announced fanning herself with her hand. The group was in the middle of a particularly boring discussion about the latest broomstick and of course Ginny was enthralled. Very few people know that Ginny was training once again to re-join the Harpies, now that the children were a little older.

Hermione got up and steadied herself on her feet before slipping her heels back on. She was relatively drunk, but sober enough to easily make her way to the women's bathroom. When she left, she was heading back to the VIP lounge when she was blocked by a figure in her way. Looking up into the face of the figure, she noticed she had almost completely run into someone she had not seen.

"Oh, I'm …" she began. However, as her apology fell from her lips as automatically as she breathed, she noticed who she had run into.

"You were saying?" came the voice of Draco Malfoy.

Hermione stammered, not knowing what to say. She was thrown by how she knew she felt about him – hatred, loathing, pity at the very least. But confused, because she had danced with him two weeks prior and enjoyed it.

"I'm sorry I ran into you" she said as she straightened her shoulders and turned away.

"Granger wait" he called, following her.

She stopped and turned, throwing him off guard causing him to almost run into her.

"I'm not drunk enough for this conversation" she said, intentionally looking everywhere but at Malfoy.

"Let me buy you a drink then" he said.

"I have one, thank you" she answered, arrogantly. She felt herself automatically drifting into the attitude of teenage Hermione, who was always on the defensive around him. He was the biggest cause of misery for her for years during those days.

"Give me a chance Granger" he said with a smile that she couldn't not notice. He was strangely handsome in this moment.

"No way, you're _Malfoy_. I'm not giving you _anything_" she said.

"You danced with me here the other night. We had fun… I thought" he said.

Hermione wondered why he seemed so interested in talking to her. She certainly had no intentions of giving him another minute of her time.

"If I knew it was you Malfoy I would have had you thrown out for even coming near me. Now leave me alone" she said, before turning and walking away.

She huffed as she walked back to the table where all her friends had just watched what happened.

"Uh, ok, two weeks ago you were all over him Hermione. That looked like you were telling him to fuck off" Ginny said, handing Hermione a tall drink.

"Two weeks ago, I was drunk out of my mind and had no idea who I was dancing with. Tonight, I can see perfectly straight and that was Draco-pure-mudblood-hating-prince-bloody-Malfoy" Hermione said.

"How could you not have known you were dancing with him last time?" Neville asked.

"I don't know really. I was just having fun, dancing with everyone. I wasn't paying much attention to _who_ I was actually dancing with"

"But you had a good time?" Neville asked.

"Of course" Hermione said, looking at her closest friends, who were now sticking up for her life long mortal enemy.

"So why not give him an opportunity to at least explain himself? Obviously he's different now, since school and everything" Neville said.

"It has been seventeen years since the battle Hermione. Maybe he's changed" Ginny said with a shrug.

"Not that much" she said, lifting her arm and pointing to the work 'mudblood' that was still faintly visible, despite both muggle and magical methods to make it go away.

No one spoke after that for a while, everyone just sipped their drinks and waited for the awkward moment to pass.

Hermione felt incredibly guilty for ruining what had been an amazing night so far. Everyone had been having so much fun until she had to pull out the 'torture' card. If she was honest, since she had been divorced, the dreams had returned. After the war, she had nightmares for months. They were only calmed when she slept beside someone – beside Ron.

As she sat sipping her drink after everyone had gone to the dancefloor, she thought about her ex-husband and wondered what had changed in his life so drastically for him to have adopted a whole new look. That afternoon when he had picked up the children, Hermione's heart actually fluttered a little when she saw him. He appeared to have been working out, as his muscles were visible beneath his tight shirt and all the parts of him that used to jiggle, no longer did.

As she watched the couples pairing off on the dancefloor, she found herself missing him. She missed the ease with which they lived their day to day life. She missed sleeping beside him. She missed just having someone, an adult to talk to. She loved her children more than anything, but they were children and she couldn't talk to them about the bills or school reports or her nightmares or the fears that were associated with those nightmares. Only Ron knew the depth of how she was affected by what happened all those years ago.

As she thought more about this, she drank more, and found that she was feeling more and more drunk the longer she sat there, alone, in the VIP booth. Ginny was dancing with Neville, a reminder of the Yule Ball back in their school days. She had thought then, before Harry, before anybody really, that maybe Ginny and Neville would end up together. Even back then Hermione only wanted Ron. Even though she had gone to the ball with Viktor.

After another lonely drink, Hermione got to her feet and picked up her purse. She walked clumsily over to Ginny, who held her arms out for Hermione to join them.

"I'm going to head off" Hemione said.

"No! Stay. Please" Ginny begged.

"I must really tired, and I sort of ruined everything earlier. I'm just going to go home to bed" she said.

"Aright, well, I'll hear from you this week, yes?" Ginny asked.

"Of course" she said.

Hermione turned and walked to the disapparation point within the night club. The same place she had been when Malfoy raised a glass to her last time.

_He's such an ass. How could he have so many people sticking up for him? How could he wrap people around his little finger so tightly without even knowing them? How could he have danced with her at all, knowing it was her. Why didn't he make it known that he was him?_

As she waited in the line, Hermione was so consumed with anger with Malfoy. He had really hit a nerve within her that she had thought was securely tucked away.

As she approached the head of the line, she thought of her home, and then her thoughts shifted. She turned on the spot and found herself standing out the front of a small townhouse. One she had only seen in pictures and had the address for. She was actually surprised she managed to arrive without splinching herself, as she was drunk and had never actually been here. It looked good, if she were honest. She had thought it would be some run-down garbage dump of a place, but it was really nice.

She glanced around, hoping that no one had seen her appear out of nowhere. There was no one around, so she hesitantly walked up the path to the front door. She looked up on the architraves and under the mat and found a spare key, using it to open the door.

_Typical, no wards up, no safety features. I'll have to talk to him about this. _She thought.

She pushed open the door and headed for the stairs. Once on the landing she contemplated turning back but she kept going. As she arrived on the second story of the townhouse, she made her way to what she assumed was the master bedroom. She pushed open the door and was right. Ron was asleep in his bed, which actually looked rather nice, for Ron's taste. The whole house had been, in fact. She shut the door behind her and slipped off her shoes. She walked over to Ron's bed, where he still slept on his side. She unzipped her dress and slid into the bed beside him.

As she did, Ron rolled over and cautiously opened his eyes, looking to Hermione for some kind of answer. She had none. Not in words anyway.

She reached up and took his face in her hands, his stubble a foreign feeling to her. She kissed his lips, slowly at first, as if searching for approval. When he kissed her back, she took it as a sign that it was ok and continued. She moved her hands down to his chest and torso and felt smooth muscles there. She hadn't felt him like this since she had known him.

Her hands continued down his body until she felt his erection in her hand. She moved her body and lifted her leg over him, so she was now straddling him. She grinded herself against him as she continued kissing him, something she knew used to drive him crazy. His hands now freely roamed her body, the one they had known for 17 years, in much the same way they always had.

This felt normal and natural to Hermione. It felt safe. It was something she didn't know she had been needing for months and she was ready to feel a release.

"Hermione…" Ron groaned.

"I just need this Ron" she whispered, moving her underwear to one side.

It was sloppy, hard and fast, and it didn't take long for Ron to flip her over and pound into her, over and over, her hands gripping his hard, flexing biceps. Hermione was incredibly turned on by his muscular physique and soon enough, she found the release she sought and Ron the same. He collapsed beside her and together they waited for their breathing to slow.

"You've been drinking" he said quietly after some time.

"I've been out" she said. "Neville has this bar. It's quite nice" she said.

"Hermione, I can't do this. You can't do this" he said after a long pause.

"Do what?" she asked.

"You can't just break into my home and crawl into my bed whenever you've had a few drinks. This isn't like you and it's not ok, considering we're divorced" he said.

"You're the only person I've ever been with Ron. We're just two single people, having a one-night stand. That's all" she said, rolling over to get comfortable.

"You can't stay" he said. "The children will think we're getting back together" he added.

Did she want to get back with Ron? In this moment she did. In this moment, she could forget the rotten things he did to her, all the lies, the cheating. They could start dating and still live separately. They could go slow, have fun, go on romantic adventures like they used to. This could work, Hemione thought to herself.

"So what if they do. Worse things have happened" she said.

"I'm with someone" he said, catching her off guard, mid-thought.

She jumped out of his bed and scooped up her dress, holding it in front of her body.

"What?" she gasped.

"I'm in a relationship. We're getting serious" he said.

"Let me guess…" she started.

"Vivienne is…."

"Vivienne? The same Vivienne who destroyed our marriage?" Hermione said, hearing herself raising her voice. "And you just let me crawl up into your bed and fuck you like it was no big deal?" she whispered angrily.

"Hermione, I …"

"No. No excuses. Once a cheater, always a cheater, I hope she has a great life and then when she's past her expiry date, it doesn't take her years to find out that you've replaced her with a bimbo whore, like it did me" Hermione said, entering Ron's private bathroom.

As she put her dress back on, she suddenly noticed all the women's items that were strewn around. It was almost as though this person already lived here.

Now everything fell into place. The new wardrobe, the body, the nice house. It wasn't Ron at all. It was _her_.

Hermione felt tears prick her eyes, but she fought them. She and Ron were divorced. She had no reason to be upset about this. He had every right to move on. She had just hoped that it wasn't with the woman who destroyed their lives.

She removed her underwear and tucked them beside the makeup case that was tucked neatly in a shelf and left the bathroom. Ron was standing in his room with a dressing gown on, seeming unsure of what to do.

"You can't be angry at me for moving on Hermione. You left me. You divorced me. You did this" he said.

"Yeah Ron I did. But don't you dare, for even a second, forget why I was forced to. I'm not angry that you moved on. I'm angry that you moved on with _her_. I'm angry that you let me do what I just did, that you just had sex with _me_, while you're _getting serious _with someone else. I would never do that to another woman. Not even one who did that to me!"

"Just… don't say anything… to anyone" he said.

"Is that what you used to tell her?" Hermione asked. "Did you say _Vivienne, you feel so tight, oh Vivienne, your body is perfect, ride me harder Vivienne, _just like you did with me 5 minutes ago? Just like you did when we were first together? Then say _Vivienne don't tell anyone_" Hermione now feeling insanely childish and idiotic, huffed and turned to leave Ron's room.

She headed down the stairs and out into the front yard. Ron was right behind her.

"You can't, you have to go down the street" he said, as Hermione prepared to disapparate.

"I'll do what I want. You surely do" she said as she turned on the spot.

She arrived home to her living room and fell down on the lounge. She couldn't believe what she had just done. She hadn't ever been so forthcoming sexually and while the aftermath was definitely not the greatest, she hadn't felt so alive, so sexy and so free, ever.

All the events from that night caught up with her, the alcohol, Malfoy and Ginny and Neville's strange defence of him, Ron… Hermione allowed herself to let her emotions take over and cried until she couldn't cry any longer. She cried for everything that happened that night. She cried for everything that happened over the last year and a half. She cried for the fact that she was now well and truly alone.


	3. Chapter 3

The work week went by quickly. Hermione had parent teacher interviews to attend at the children's school two afternoons that week, as they prepared to finish primary school. The interviews went well, with both children receiving praise from most of the teachers. Even Hugo, who was so much like Ron was doing very well.

The following weekend went by much the same, with Hermione thinking about how truly alone she now was and would soon be. Perhaps there had always been the idea that she might get back with Ron. Perhaps she thought that after he had truly been punished, after he realised what he had lost, that he would come back to her. What a fool she was. He had been with _her_ this whole time.

It was hard getting back to work on the Monday, as she felt that she hadn't had enough time over the weekend to enjoy spending it with her children. More and more she felt that way and more and more the guilt crept up on her about not seeing them as much as she used to.

Hermione contemplated taking Ron to family court and fighting for full custody. She wanted nothing more than to punish him for being the twat that he was, but she knew that it would only punish the children. Both times they had gone to his house, they had come back and said how much fun they had had. And Hermione was not selfish enough to take his kids away from him. She had read newspaper articles about men who had divorced from their wives and committed suicide because they hadn't bene able to see their children. That's the last thing she wanted to do not only to her children but to his family and his friends. Afterall, he was still best friends with Harry and there would always be that part of Hermione that loved Ron.

Hermione dragged herself through Tuesday and when Wednesday approached, she was finally feeling on her game, professionally. She had a presentation to make and was confident in what she knew. She sat in her office and gathered her resources for the presentation. She knew her stuff and she knew her audience. They were the ones who were going to provide the funding to continue the research into muggle protection laws and finally get the law passed to make it a jail-able offence to discriminate against muggles. It had always been frowned upon, Hermione had seen to it that there was a fine imposed, but now came the time to fight to ensure that anyone who withheld something, treated someone less than, or even spoke to someone with disdain because they were muggle born, would spend a minimum of a year in Azkaban. Hermione's work was iron clad. All it needed was someone worthy to present it to the right people and it would become a law. She knew that anyone could be chosen to present it, but she was confident that they wouldn't pass it on to someone else. The contract for the job had been long, but Hermione had followed so many other leads that there would be so many opportunities for growth in this area of study. Hermione was excited beyond belief about what was to come.

As eleven o'clock approached, the time came for her to head to the meeting room to deliver her presentation. She knew most of the board members but there were a few new ones she had yet to meet, or even come to know by name.

She walked into the meeting room and was stunned when she came face to face with the 4 board members who would determine her fate. She had expected more. Three she knew about, and one she felt instantly sick at the sight of.

"Miss Granger, how lovely to see you again" said Mr Thompson, the senior wizard in charge of the program.

"Mr Thompson, it's a pleasure" she said shaking his hand. "Mr Darius, Miss Fruly…" she said, making her way around the room, "And Mr Malfoy. Such a surprise" she said, shaking the hand of Draco Malfoy.

She immediately felt that this would be a complete waste of time. If Malfoy was part of the committee deciding whether to support muggle rights, this presentation did not stand a chance. Surely he was here to tear it down. Someone to stand for the opposing team.

"Oh, you two know each other, fabulous" said Mr Thompson.

"Miss Granger and I attended Hogwarts together, the same year in fact" Malfoy said.

"Oh, right, that's right. How silly of me to forget. Terrible times, terrible" he muttered.

"Mr Thompson, if you'd rather, we can do this another time? Perhaps when there is someone, ahem, more suitable to make such decisions?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, but Miss Granger, don't you know? Mr Malfoy has been overseeing the campaign in the US to aid the plight of the muggle-borns. It's been a phenomenon, truly" he said.

At this, Hermione was shocked. She imagined that her face resembled a fish out of water, gasping for breath. She was completely thrown. Draco Malfoy, campaigning for muggle rights? Never in a million centuries.

Nevertheless, within minutes, she had launched into her presentation, not faltering on a single thing despite Draco Malfoy staring at her intently, the whole time.

"So you see, with all of the things I mentioned and with the assistance of your suggestions of course, we can implement a strict minimum sentence of one full year in Azkaban for _any _crime against muggle borns or half-blood witches and wizards" she concluded.

"Fabulous"

"Fantastic"

"So insightful"

Came the voices of the members. Malfoy just sat in silence, his fingertips pressed together, elbows resting on the table.

Hermione sat at the table, ready to receive feedback. She was interested to know what Malfoy thought, given his history. She felt that it was odd that he was heading up the campaign in the United States, given that he always hated muggle borns.

"If you could give us a few moments, Miss Granger" Mr Thompson said.

Hermione nodded and left the room, standing in the corridor listening to their hushed conversation through the door. Their first impressions seemed to be positive. There was no way they could refuse to continue to support Hermione's work.

"Miss Granger, if you please" called Mr Thompson from the doorway after several minutes.

Hermione re-entered the room and stood at the head of the table.

"Now, I must congratulate you on a well thought out, excellently put together presentation. Your information was succinct and insightful. It is an overwhelming positive response to your proposal" he said. Hermione was elated to hear that her hard work had paid off.

"To have accomplished all you have in 12 months in this role leaves us quite pleased. We had initially aimed to finance this position for three years, as you know…" he continued.

Hermione was excited to learn where the job might take her next. She had worked extremely hard to make sure everything she wanted for muggle borns would come to fruition, but wanted to do so quickly, not in the three years they had indicated.

…and for that reason, Miss Granger, we have no reason to continue the position you are currently employed in" Mr Thompson said.

Hermione was silent for a moment before she realised what he said.

"Wait, are you saying that I don't have a job?" she asked.

"Unfortunately, Miss Granger, the position has run its course. If you had taken three years to complete the task as originally planned, then you would be in the position until it was completed. We didn't foresee this situation" he said.

"I worked hard for this. I spent time away from my children to get this done. I thought there would be other ideas to pursue. I had a contract" she said, shaking her head in disbelief.

"That is true Miss Granger, however, the contract does not stipulate a timeframe, just a workload. The work is complete Miss Granger" Mr Thompson said.

"As a token of our gratitude…" Malfoy began, "We will pay you the equivalent to one year's pay at the same rate you have been paid already" he said.

Hermione was seething. She didn't want a payout, nor was she looking for some kind of mercy gift from _Malfoy _of all people.

There were so many thoughts going around in Hermione's head, but she knew better than to let her emotions get the better of her.

"That is quite reasonable of you, thank you all" she said after a moment.

"Shall we call this meeting to a close then?" asked Miss Fruly, the witch who hadn't spoken till now.

"We'll be in touch to finalise your payment and of course let you know when the mandatory sentencing law has been passed. With your extraordinary work, there is nothing to hold it back" said Mr Thompson as he exited the room behind the two women.

This left Hermione alone with Malfoy. Something she wasn't too keen on.

"Sorry if I'm not in the conversational mood, Malfoy" she said. "as it turns out, I now need to go and look for another job" she spat.

"I didn't want this for you. You have truly revolutionised the way in which the law will be practiced. I hope you know that" he said.

"Oh like you care Malfoy. You're a death eater in case you've forgotten" she said, regretting it immediately.

"Was. And haven't been in a very long time" he said, lifting the sleeve of his jacket and revealing a deep scar on the white of his arm.

"What… what happened? I thought it couldn't be removed?" she asked, forgetting how much she hated him right now. The dark mark could not be removed by any methods of magic whatsoever. It was just another thing Voldemort had done to ensure lifelong servitude for his followers.

"I saw a muggle doctor. They took some skin from my thigh and… well, I'll save you the gory details" he said, rolling his sleeve back down.

"I… well… I still think you're despicable Malfoy. You made life hell for me on so many occasions. You're probably heading back to the _manor_ to laugh about this with your pure blood friends" Hermione spat. She was getting silly now. Her mouth was running well before her mind had a chance to think up something more appropriate.

"I'm sorry you feel that way. I thought I saw something in you, but clearly I was wrong" he said.

"What? Saw what?" she asked.

"That night at the club. I thought that maybe… Maybe the past was in the past, but it doesn't matter. I don't expect you to understand... I am sorry… about the job" he said, as he left the room.

Hermine sat at the table which had pieces of parchment spread out all across it and put her head in her hands. She had never been in a position where she was without a paid job. She had no idea what she would do. She slowly gathered up all the pieces of parchment and carried them back to her office. When she got to her desk, it had several large boxes on it with labels reading 'research'.

Hermione laughed to herself, somewhat manically, about the fact that the hardest work she had ever completed in her life would be neatly and probably alphabetically stacked into these three boxes and she would then be without a job.

It was an odd arrangement that she would be paid out for a year's work but if she was honest, she needed the money.

By the end of the day, she had packed her entire office and said goodbye to her colleagues. They were equally as shocked when Hermione told them she was leaving. They all promised to have lunch and see each other when they could but Hermione knew all too well that they wouldn't. She had previously worked with people for ten years who had promised to keep in touch and as soon as she left, that was the end of their friendship.

The rest of the week went quite slow as Hermione spent the two days at home. She ventured out to the store once to buy some groceries but apart from that, she had nothing else to do.

Friday afternoon saw Ron pick up the children while Hermione stayed inside. She could not bring herself to face him. She was horrified at what she had done two weeks before.

Instead of taking up Ginny's invitation to go out, Hermione stayed in, watching sappy movies and eating far too much bad food. She knew that she had worked hard for the body that she had, having spent hours upon hours of her time at the guy throughout her life. Her thirties were not a time to ignore the lessons she had learnt, but she felt that she was well within her rights to have a weekend of junk food.

She went to bed after midnight and slept till lunch time on Saturday. It was something she had ever done before.

On Sunday, she decided to make a list of all the things she would like to do with her time off and a strict timetable with dates, times and goals for herself. There was no way she was going to let herself get into a funk that she couldn't get out of. She was Hermione bloody Granger.

By Sunday afternoon, Hermione had developed a plan that she felt was completely doable. It included volunteering at her children's school and gym time as well as attending meetings at the Ministry of Magic and job hunting. She had no idea what she wanted to do, but she really felt like she could do with a change. Something different to make things interesting.

When the children returned home late that day, she decided to take them somewhere nice for dinner. In some ways, it was an apology for how she had been acting over the last week. She fully explained her work situation to her children who were very sympathetic to her feelings. Together, the family threw around some ideas about what Hermione might do next, where her career might take her and who she might meet. Rose suggested she apply to become minster of magic, however Hugo laughed hysterically, causing his fizzy drink to spill out of his nose.

The rest of the night was the best Hermione had had with her kids. They were truly amazing little people who she was s proud to have raised so far. They ha faced challenges that even she had not at that age. She only hoped that the challenges she faced once she grew older would not be matched for them.

Over the following two weeks, Hermione worked in the school canteen, while thinking hard about what she might want to do with her life now. Once the children were at Hogwarts, the opportunities were endless. She could do anything, go anywhere. She could even sell up and move away. As long as she could get the children to and from Kings Cross Station every few months everything would be fine.

The last Thursday of the week before the children would return to Ron's, Hermione attended a career meeting at the ministry of magic. There were loads of jobs on offer, but nothing that really stood out for Hermione. Most people were shocked to see _the_ Hermione Granger attending job expo. No one really knew much about her private life, but she was always seen to be a successful career woman.

During the expo, Hermione had been approached by several employers, looking to hire her for their departments. One of whom was her old boss, looking to get her back into her previous role. As much as she would love to work again, she felt as though she had done as much as she could in that role and needed something new.

As she was leaving, Hermione almost bumped into someone she hadn't seen in years.

"Mrs Weasley" came the elderly voice of Professor McGonagall.

"Oh professor, how lovely to see you again. Although I must admit, it is now Granger again" Hermione said.

"Oh Hermione, how sorry I am to hear that. I couldn't possibly have imagined you and Mr Weasley being a perfect fit in the beginning but they do say opposites attract" she said

"They certainly do" Hermione said, not knowing what to say.

"Now, Ms Granger, I have an important question for you, if you will humour me for just a moment" she asked.

"Absolutely. Anything for my favourite professor" she said.

"We have had a staffing issue this year, getting ready for the new semester and I was hoping, well, actually, I was counting on you joining us as the muggle studies professor" she said, a look of desperation in her eyes.

"What? I mean, why… I'm surely not cut out for that role Professor. I have never taught before" Hermione said, shocked at the request.

"No no, never mind that. The curriculum is set, the classes practically run themselves, you just need to facilitate them" she offered. "And if you decide you like it, theres an opportunity to continue and even promotional opportunities" she said.

"Promotional?"

"I'm not sprightly anymore Ms Granger, I need a successor" she said.

"Headmaster?"

"Indeed. You'd be perfect. All you need is a year or two at the school and you'll qualify" she said.

"I couldn't possibly…"

"You could. Please, think about it. I would love someone like you running that school" she said.

"I will. I will think about it, professor and get back to you as soon as I have an answer" she said, hugging the frail old lady and leaving.

Could she be a professor? She certainly knew the subject matter, but did she had the ability to impart her wisdom onto students? Could she take on that responsibility? And the thought of Professor McGonagall wanting her to be headmaster in a year or two. That was surely not something Hermione had ever thought of. It was never an aspiration. Or could it be?

She took a long time to fall asleep that night, thinking about all the things in her life that would have to change if she were to take on the job as Hogwarts Professor. The dreams of being tortured did not come that night. Instead, she dreamt of the stone gargoyle and the circular office that Dumbledore had occupied so many years ago and then Professor McGonagall since then.

Before she knew it, it was Friday afternoon and she prepared her children for the weekend ahead. They were excited to go, as usual and were ready and waiting when Ron arrived.

She kissed her children goodbye and waved as they got into the car. She hadn't planned to go out this weekend, but while she sat at home on her own, she felt as though she owed it to herself to give herself a fun night out. She had made a decision about her future and contacted McGonagall to confirm her position as the new muggle studies teacher. She hadn't thought about how it would impact upon everything else in her lift yet. She still had the whole summer to think. The next week would be the final week of primary education for her children and then they would have 6 weeks to get ready for Hogwarts. That would be plenty of time to come up with some ideas.

She contacted Ginny, but Ginny and Harry were having a night out together while Molly looked after the children. They were still so very much in love, sometimes it made Hermione jealous. None of her other friends were keen to go out, but Hermione didn't let that deter her. She was a strong, independent single woman and she could go out all on her own.

By 8pm she was ready to go. She had one of her new dresses on that really accentuated her curves in the right places, and a pair of heels that were higher than she thought she could possibly walk in. But with some practice she was right to go.

She found herself standing outside the club alone, wondering if it would be appropriate to walk to the front of the line like before. She hesitated for a moment before she heard her name being called. The head security guard had called her forward and ushered her inside before she could contemplate lining up. She felt like royalty. It unnerved her. The 'Golden Trio' thing had gradually started to wear off years ago and Hermione wanted to be just like everybody else. Although, in this situation, she wouldn't say no.

She entered the club, which had already been pumping for a while. She didn't go to the usual VIP area, as she had come alone and felt that it would be odd to sit there by herself. She glanced around the room, looking for someone she knew, but saw no one. She squeezed her way through the crowd to the bar and ordered a drink. She sat at a small table and drank her first two drinks while watching the crowd. There were a few people she knew who had come and said a quick 'hello', and a few people she purposely tried to avoid.

It was definitely a different experience, coming to the club alone and she thought that maybe she had made a mistake by coming. She ordered another drink when she finished the first and continued watching the crowd. The alcohol was not making her feel as it usually would and that irritated Hermione. She had come to like the way her brain switched off when she had been drinking. The way she didn't think about why or how Ron had done her wrong. She definitely wanted to stop thinking about what happened with Ron last time she went out, so had yet another drink.

After her third drink, she made a trip to the bathroom, but when she returned to her table it was occupied. She stopped in her tracks when she noticed that it was Malfoy at the table and with hands on her hips and a slightly drunk attitude about her, she strutted up to the table.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you for the review. Keep them coming. Hope you like this chapter.**

**-XX-**

After her third drink, she made a trip to the bathroom, but when she returned to her table it was occupied. She stopped in her tracks when she noticed that it was Malfoy at the table and with hands on her hips and a slightly drunk attitude about her, she strutted up to the table.

"You're in my seat" she said, standing there with her hand on her hip and a fresh drink in her hand.

"You left it" he said with a smirk.

"Only for a moment" she said.

"By all means, sit down" he offered.

"With you? I don't think so" she said, skulling half of her drink at once.

"Woah there Granger slow down" he said.

"Why? Why should I slow down? Why should I listen to any advice _you _have to give?" she asked, beginning to speak with an intense attitude that only came about when she had been drinking.

"Because I know what can happen when you get wasted and can't handle your liquor" he said.

"You think I can't handle it?" she asked with a giggle. "You don't know what I can handle, _Malfoy_" she added.

"Fine, I give in. Drink away" he said, raising his two hands up in the air in defeat.

"You're not moving from my spot" she said.

"I didn't say I was going to" he said.

"Fine, I'll find some place else to sit" she said, walking away.

She couldn't believe Malfoy of all people was being an ass to her, trying to lecture her about drinking after taking her table and not giving it back. She wandered around the club, past the VIP section, which was empty and quiet, and back towards where the table was. She hoped Malfoy would have left once she indicated that she was going elsewhere, but he was still there. Sipping on his drink, watching the crowd like some sort of creep.

"Won't you just leave so I can have my seat back?" she asked.

"No, I quite like it here. You're free to join me, of course" he said.

With a heavy sigh and a last look around the club in desperation for a table, Hermione sat at the opposite end of the table from him and stared out at the crowd.

After a moment, she finished her drink and sat it down at the table. She hadn't noticed Malfoy signal to the bartender for another drink and was surprised when two drinks appeared before them both.

"What's this?" she asked.

"You're clearly here to get wasted, so, I want to help" he said.

"That's not…. I don't want your help" she said, looking around for the bar tender to order another drink. When they were all busy, she picked up her drink with a sigh and took a sip.

"It's nice, I guess" she said.

Malfoy just smiled. It threw Hermione. She hadn't seen him look _happy_ in years and years. Not that she had seen him since Hogwarts, but even then, he never smiled. Not really.

"You're staring at me Granger" he said, shocking her out of her thoughts.

"No I'm not" she said, embarrassed that she was called out.

"Yes you are" he responded.

"Well, if you must know, I was interested in the way you just smiled. It's bizarre" she said.

"Bizarre?" he asked.

"Yes, bizarre, odd, weird, strange, peculiar, abnormal, creepy" she said.

"You're _interested, _but you think me smiling is creepy?" he asked.

"Yes…." She said. "No. Well, I don't know, it's certainly unnerving" she added.

"Should I not?" he asked.

"Not?"

"Smile"

"No, smile if you like. I'm not going to stop you" she said.

"But its creepy?" he said with a smirk.

"Unnerving" she responded, smirking back.

Hermione sipped her drink for a while, wondering in what kind of universe would she ever sit across a table from Malfoy and sort of enjoy bantering with him. It was true, she was enjoying it. Certainly, she thought it would have to be the alcohol influencing her decision-making capacity and affecting her judgement. She would never talk with Malfoy like this and certainly never be caught pondering the way he smiled.

As she pondered that exact thing, she found herself hoping to see it again. It was nice, sort of. Malfoy was always such an arrogant ass at school and as far as she knew, still was. But there was something in his smile, a hint of something different that she couldn't place. Heseemed different, despite the very short conversation they had just had.

"So, Granger, what are you doing here all alone?" he asked, bringing her from her thoughts before she let herself go down a strange path.

"I might ask you the same thing" she said.

"I'm working" he answered.

She looked around and laughed.

"Working? Yeah, ok. On what? Being a perve?" she asked.

"A perve?"

"Yes, you've been checking out every single girl that had walked past and you're _drinking_. Hardly working" she said.

"It's all part of the job. Besides, I'm not checking them out, they're far too young for me. I need someone my own age" he said, flashing that smile briefly.

"Surely _the_ Draco Malfoy isn't _single_?" she asked.

"All that and you ask if I'm single?" he asked.

"You're impossible" she said with a sigh.

"Relax Granger, I'm looking to open my own club and am doing research. I come here alone so I can observe without distraction" he said.

Hermione didn't say anything in response, just sipped her drink.

"And I _am _single" he added.

"I actually couldn't care less if you were single, divorced, married or some kind of monk" she said.

"Well, I am married, technically, I suppose" he answered, looking serious and very far away in thought.

"You? Married?" she asked.

"Well, yes. She uh… It…." He began.

"She left you, didn't she? Realised what a twat you are and left your sorry ass" Hermione asked.

"She died" he said.

_Shit_

"Merlin, way to make me feel like a complete insensitive twit" she said, feeling exactly that.

"You weren't to know" he said in a serious tone, before taking a large swig of his drink.

"How, I mean… When did she…?" Hermione began. She felt strange asking, but for some reason, felt genuine concern and realised what she had seen behind his smile – pain.

"Did she die? Three years ago. She was giving birth to our daughter. They both died during the birth" he said.

"Oh Merlin, Malfoy I'm so sorry. How insensitive of me. I'm a complete twat" she said.

"Don't worry about it, Granger. It was a long time ago now" he said, finishing his drink.

He stood and walked to the bar, leaving Hermione feeling incredibly sad for him. Part of her felt like he deserved all the misery in the world because of the things he had been part of and the way he had treated her during their Hogwarts days, but for some reason, none of that was at the forefront of Hermione's mind now. So many years had passed and it was beginning to seem to her that he might no longer the same person he once was.

She thought back to the other day in her office, the brief conversation she had with him.

_'That night at the club. I thought that maybe… Maybe the past was in the past_'

What did he mean by that? She wondered. _Was_ he different? Why had he tried so hard to be nice to her if he wasn't?

She got up from her seat and walked to where he stood at the bar. Perhaps a little too close in her drunken state, as she now realised he smelt really good.

She watched as he ordered a drink for himself and looked over at the table where they sat, frowning.

"I'm behind you" she said.

He quickly turned and noticed her before turning back and ordering her a drink as well.

"I can get my own" she said.

"Well, you're unemployed now, so I think I ought to" he said.

"Very funny… but I have just received a big fat cheque with a full year's wages. I'm a capable woman" she said, taking the drink from him.

"You don't want to save it? Maybe go on a holiday?" he asked.

"Don't need to. I have a job all lined up in the coming months" she said with a smile. Again, why the hell was she talking to Malfoy? What was it so easy?

She turned to go back to the table but as she approached, she realised that someone else had taken it.

"You going to ask them to leave as well?" he asked, talking quietly in her ear. It gave her goose bumps on the back of her neck.

She looked around the club for somewhere else to go and spotted just the place.

"No, I'm not. _They _can have it" she said, walking away.

When she had walked a few steps, she turned and realised he wasn't following.

"Are you coming?" she asked.

"I'm invited, am I?" he asked.

"Don't make me ask again" she said, turning and walking towards the VIP area.

"You didn't actually ask me to join you" he said.

"I asked if you were coming. It's the same thing" she said.

They arrived at the deserted VIP area and Hermione carefully stepped over the red velvet rope, while Malfoy removed it, stepped through and placed it back.

"Smart" she said, sitting down on the comfy lounge.

"I think these lounges could be dangerous" he said, taking the seat diagonal from her in the U-shaped booth.

"How so?" she asked with a giggle, wondering if he was talking about people having sex here. That thought made her think of what happened with her and Ron and she shook her head.

"People who drink heavily could pass out here. It could be quite embarrassing for them" he said. "What were _you_ thinking?" he asked with that smile.

"Oh, nothing. The same as you probably" she said.

The gap in the middle of the table, which was empty before, now contained a familiar bottle of mead and two goblets appeared on the table.

"This place wants us to get very drunk" she said, indicating to the bottle.

"Just Longbottom's way of making money" he said.

"_Making _money? This just appears here for free" she said.

"Well, yes, it does. But it entices you to stay and utilise the other services here. Ergo, spending money" he said.

"Ergo?" she asked.

"Ergo" he repeated.

Hermione laughed quietly to herself, wondering where he had picked up the muggle word.

"That's nice" he said.

"What is?" she asked.

"You laughing. You haven't done much of that, I've noticed" he said.

"You've been watching me? That's kind of creepy" she said.

"You were grinding all up on me the first night you came. Don't talk to me about being a creep" he said.

"Well, forgive me if I had no idea who you were. I never would have danced with you, had I known you were you" she said.

"Great for my ego, that" he said.

"Well, your ego is fairly large I suppose it could handle a beating or two" she said, sipping her drink.

The two were quiet for a while before anybody spoke again.

"I'm not the same person I was, you know" he said.

"I _don't_ know" she answered.

"You're sitting here, talking to me, you accepted a drink form me. You must have an inkling" he said.

"I'm drunk" she shrugged.

"It took me a long time to come to terms with the things I had done. The things I said. All those stupid things I did" he said.

"How did you?" she asked, genuine curiosity peaking its head.

"I don't know to be honest. After Potter vouched for me and my mother, saving us from Azkaban, we went abroad, changed our names, worked, met some people, moved again and ended up in the United States" he said.

"So you just moved around a lot and _BAM_ you're cured of pure blood idiocy? I don't buy it" she said.

"I saw so many things during the war. I _did_ so many things too that I'm not proud of. Things I would take back in a heartbeat. Things I would give my life to take back. But I can't. All I can do is change the way others see things, try to make it up to the people that matter, somehow" he said.

Hermione was dumbfounded.

"Like what?" she asked.

"Things I did?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Dumbledore for a start. That is the worst. I sat by and watched people get killed. I stood by and watched you scream for mercy as my… as she…" he began. Hermione noticed tears prick his eyes in the dim lighting of the club.

Hermione didn't know what to say. She had hated this person, this man, her whole life, but now here he was, sitting alone with her in this club, declaring to her how much he has changed. She absentmindedly rubbed the scar of her arm, as she always did whenever the subject came up.

"I really hoped that one day I would come face to face with you and you'd give me the opportunity to explain myself. I was brought up with these ideas. These stupid ideas that were completely untrue. But I had no way to know otherwise. I was young and dumb and completely guided by my father, who was also brought up by his father who was brought up the same way. I idolised my father for so long, thinking he was right and everyone else was wrong. It wasn't till I started seeing all the bad things that I realised how wrong _he_ was" he continued. "I guess, what I really want you to know is that I'm sorry Granger. I'm sorry for everything" he said.

Hermione was gobsmacked. Even in her drunken state she knew a heartfelt apology when she heard one. But was it enough to overcome _everything _he had done? Seven years of abuse and torture, taking part in the death of Dumbledore, regardless of whether or not Dumbledore was in on it or not. That was a lot to forgive with just one apology.

She shook her head, forgetting the words he had said and trying to focus on his actions. Had he done anything to make her believe he was lying? In fact, when she thought about it, everything he had done since she ran into him a few weeks ago was indicating that he _had_ changed.

"I forgive you. I just… its hard to change the way I have thought about you my whole life" she said.

"Oh trust me, I know" he said with a smirk.

"So now that you don't consider me to be a mudblood anymore, what am i?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, am I someone you went to school with? Am I your enemy? Colleague? What?" she asked.

"Merlin Granger, I don't know. Its like I've just met you for the first time. I don't know _who_ you are" he said.

"I can take that" she said.

They both drank their drinks for a while, taking in everything that just happened. Hermione and Malfoy had somehow reset the clock on everything they ever knew about each other. For Hermione, she could just as easily get up and leave, find some place else to sit and never talk to him again, but there was something intriguing about him, something that held her there. She wanted to know more. While she was contemplating this and watching a drunk couple of the dancefloor getting a bit too close for viewing comfort, Malfoy spoke.

"So now you know my story, how about you? How does Hermione Granger get to be a single woman at the age of…" he began.

"I'll stop you right there. You don't need to know my age" she said, grateful to take her gaze off the couple and her thoughts off just about everything else.

"We're the same age" he said.

"Yes, well… A lady never reveals her age" she said.

"I know your age. You're not revealing anything" he said.

"Fine, you know my age. Just don't say it out loud" she said, rolling her eyes.

"So…" he said.

"So, there's not much to tell" she said.

"There is something though, right?" he asked.

"Well, yes there is, but it's nothing like yours" she said.

"Enlighten me" he said.

"Ron and I were married" she said.

"Weasley?"

"Yes, Ron Weasley"

"So I should call you Weasley, not Granger?" he asked with a smirk.

"No, most definitely not. I didn't even want to take his name when we married" she said.

"Why not? That's the proper way to do it" he said.

"Firstly, there is no _proper_ way to do it. Secondly, I wanted to stay true to who I was. I didn't want to become part of him, I wanted to stay me. I wanted to stay Hermione Granger. But he talked me into it" she said.

"So what happened?" he asked.

"It didn't work out" she said, skipping over all of the details she was ashamed of.

"So you just woke up one day and decided you'd had enough?" he asked.

Hermione let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. Should she tell him and risk him making fun of her for it? Would he? He seemed so different. Could she tell him this? She felt like if she revealed this about her life, it was as though she was letting him in. Could she? Should she? In this moment, she wasn't certain she actually cared. So she did.

"He cheated" she said.

"On you?" he asked, disbelief evident in his voice.

"Yep" she said, taking a large drink from her glass and reaching for the bottle of mead and yanking on the cork.

Malfoy picked up the two goblets and reached for the bottle when Hermione couldn't open it.

"With who?" he asked, popping the bottle at once and expertly pouring the liquid into the goblets.

"Some young dumb blonde bimbo, who clearly has excellent taste in style, clothing and furnishings" she said.

"I sense a story" he said.

"You're not getting one. It's embarrassing" she said.

"Now I'm intrigued" he said.

"When did you get so demanding?" she asked.

"I've always been this way. Only now, I'm not an asshole" he said.

"Oh, that is still to be seen" she said.

"You're deflecting" he said.

"I'm not, I just don't want to tell you" she said.

"You can trust me" he said, looking directly at her. It was the first time she had noticed his grey eyes. She looked into his eyes and saw his truth. She felt, at that moment that she _could_ trust him. So she opened up.

"The first night I came out here was the first night that he had custody of our twins… Eleven year old, boy and girl, Rose and Hugo" she added when she saw his shock.

"Twins, right. Continue" he said, nodding.

"So Ginny, found out about this place and brought me here, four weeks ago. That's the first time I had been out since I had the twins" she said.

"First time in eleven years?" he asked.

"Yes. I always had care of my children. I never went anywhere without them" she said.

"So this must be a big deal for you then?" he asked.

"Not really. The custody arrangements took a long time to process and I had a lot of help to come to terms with it all" she said.

"So I don't get it. Where's the story?" he asked.

"I'm getting to that. So I had so much fun on the first night that I wanted to do it again the following fortnight. I came out, but it didn't feel the same. There were couples everywhere, everyone was all over everyone else and I just began to miss the feeling of having someone close, you know? So I went to Ron's place" she said.

"Ohhh" Malfoy said as he sat forward, hanging on her every word.

"Well, one thing led to another, and I was very very drunk. I snuck into his bed and, yeah. So, I'm not proud of it, but I'm only human" she said.

Malfoy smiled, sipping his drink.

"Then he tells me that he is actually in a relationship with the blonde bimbo that he cheated on me with" she said.

"So he cheated on her with you, after he cheated on you with her? Makes sense. Go on" he said.

"Well anyway, I had noticed that Ron had changed a little in the last few weeks, you know, new clothes, new hair all that. And his house was beautiful. I thought he had a designer come in and decorate or something. Then it all clicked…" she said.

"It was her?" he asked.

"It was _all_ her" she said.

"Are you jealous?" he asked after a pause.

"No, I mean, I don't think so. I don't know" she said.

"Do you want him back?" he asked.

"Oh, no. I thought I did, for about a minute and a half… But now, no way" she said.

"So, what's the problem?" he asked.

"I don't know, I guess I was just hoping that… I don't know. I could depend on Ron. You know, for when I get lonely" she said, feeling her cheeks flush with embarrassment.

"You don't need to depend on Weasel when you're lonely. You could have the pick of any man here tonight… or any night" Malfoy said.

"Well, thanks, but I doubt it" she said.

"Doubt it all you want, but I saw you weeks ago, you had every single guy in here drooling over you. You still do" he said.

"No way" she said.

"Look around Granger" he said.

She did look around and saw the subtle signs of people turning away as she glanced their way. Was she really attracting guys? Could she? Could she find someone to curb the lonely feelings?

"Were you?" she asked, hoping he'd know what the question was about.

"Was I? What? Drooling over you? Absolutely" he said, honestly.

"Why?" She asked.

"You were sexy as fuck. You were so free and dancing around like you didn't have a care in the world. I didn't recognise you at first and was gobsmacked when I did, but you know what? I'm a hot-blooded man and I know what I like when I see it" he said.

"That's very… honest of you" she said, taking a large swig of her drink.

"I'm not sorry" he said.

"I don't want you to be" she said, suddenly realising that maybe, she would like it if Malfoy could curb the loneliness sometime. "You want to dance?" she asked him after a prolonged silence.

"I suppose I could take a spin around the dancefloor" he said.

Hermione felt oddly nervous, walking out to the dancefloor. She had felt the heat rise in her chest when they had spoken about how he found her sexy and then again when she thought about him in that was as well.

They found a spot amongst the other club goers and started to dance. Hermione felt awkward at first, but eventually found her groove and began to move with the beat. She was actually having fun dancing her cares away for a long time before her overly cautious drunken mind betrayed her.

Every time she looked at him, was reminded that he was the same Malfoy that she went to Hogwarts with. The same Malfoy who stood by and watched as his aunt torture her in his home. The same Malfoy who she punched in the nose for callously laughing at the impending slaughter of the innocent Buckbeak. All of this, all these thoughts and reminders were despite the apology and the explanation he had provided over the course of the last hour or so.

The more she reminded herself about all of this, the more she felt like this was a stupid mistake. She stopped dancing and shook her head as she walked off the dance floor, back to the VIP area where she had left her purse and shoes.

"What's wrong?" he asked her, having followed her back to the lounge.

"I can't do this, it's completely wrong" she said, gathering up her things.

"What is? Do what?" he asked.

"I can't sit here and have a friendly conversation, tell you all about my life, think about you in that way and dance with you, as though nothing ever happened. As though you didn't make my life a living hell for 6 years and as though… As though your family wasn't responsible for years of fucking nightmares that I had to endure" she said, tears now pricking her eyes.

She felt like a silly witch, letting all this out now. He had given her a heart felt apology that she had accepted. She pondered it, she thought about it, she understood where he had come from, but somehow, only an hour or so later, her mind was back to square one. It had been years, but the thought of the nightmares still made her weak, physically and emotionally.

By now, she had gathered her things and was heading for the disapparation point.

"Granger, wait…" he called after her.

"I can't. This was all a dumb mistake" she said.

"I don't think that it was. I had a good time" he said.

"So did I, but you're still you and I'm still me" she said.

"I'm different. I promise. I don't know what else to tell you. Let me take you out. For real. I'll tell you everything. Everything you could ever want to know" he said.

"I don't think so" she said, cutting in the front of the line.

Malfoy took a piece of parchment out of his pocket. It appeared to be some sort of business card. He handed it to her as she took her place at the point.

"Just text me. Muggle style. Let me show you" he said.

Hermione had no idea what to do. If she should tell him yes or stick to her guns and drop his card. She held onto it and turned on the spot, finding herself standing in her living room within seconds.

She stood on the spot for a moment, taking in what had happened. She had a good night. In fact, she had a great night. The conversation with Malfoy flowed well. She actually enjoyed his company. But she couldn't help the feeling she had, every time she looked at him. The memories, the thoughts. He had been a death eater. The absolute definition of her mortal enemy. She didn't care what he did to get rid of the scar, you can't just turn that off. Could you?

She undressed and showered clumsily, affected by the alcohol she had consumed. It was 4 in the morning before she laid down in bed and as she felt herself drift off to sleep, she was certain she had seen the first rays of daylight peak through the window.

**-XX-**

**What do we think about the banter between the two? It's always difficult, especially when writing these two, especially 17 years in the future. They're completely different people to what they were in 1998, but there is still that niggling thought in Hermione's mind that is telling her he's no good. But is he? Has he actually changed or is it all a ploy? Does he seem genuine? What is she going to do?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Reviews! OMG thank you all so much. **

**SereniteRose - thank you so much for your reviews. I'm glad you're enjoying this. **  
**Lena2244 - I think people need flaws and issues in order for the story to be real. Glad you like flawed Hermione. She has a lot going on, as you'll also see in this chapter. Bit of a messy head this poor woman. **  
**Honoria Granger - Yes, our poor Hermione is a bit of an idiot, but she has good reason to be cautious. She has been through a lot. **  
**mtfunkzoo - Amazing review, thank you so much. Awkward but natural banter is what i was going for so glad it has come across that way. Anything else and it just wouldnt work. Hermione has only ever been with Ron and any discussion with Malfoy is bound to be weird. So glad you're enjoying and hopefully i'll get to put another chapter up tonight. **

Rose and Hugo were dropped off early on Sunday, much to Hermione's chagrin. She had gone out to Ron and demanded answers.

"What if I had been out? What then? You can't just drop them off whatever time you feel like it. You need to stick to the plan Ron, or else this won't work" she said, feeling anger radiating off her. She knew the anger wasn't related to him dropping them off 3 hours early, but to everything else that was going on in her life.

"Sorry, I just have some things to do this afternoon and you don't want them being around Viv, so this is my option" he said.

"You're damn right I don't want them around her. In future, you need to call me" she demanded.

"Fine, ok I'll all you" he said, getting into his car. "The kids told me what happened. With your job. I'm sorry Hermione" he said.

"What? No, that's nothing. I have some offers lined up, I'm just taking some time to figure out what I want to do" she lied.

"Well, good for you then" he said.

She turned her back on him and walked back into her house, closing the door behind her and leaning against the wood.

"Mum" came the voice of Rose.

"Hey honey how was the weekend?" she asked.

"It was fine… Mum, are you ok?" she asked.

"Me? I'm fine sweetheart. Absolutely fine" she said, turning away to hide the tears that had formed at her daughters concern.

"Dad has someone you know" she said.

"That's good for him. I'm glad" she said.

"He told us that you don't want us to meet her" Rose said.

"That's not entirely true honey" she said.

"That's what dad said. He said that his girlfriend lives there but she can't come home when we're there because you said so" she said.

"I just think it's a better idea if you spend some time with your dad for now" she said. "Maybe someday you can meet his special friend" she said.

"His girlfriend" Rose corrected.

"That too" Hermione said.

As Hermione went about washing the children's clothes from the weekend, she heard a crack in the living room. She went out to see Ginny standing around with Albus by her side.

"Alby, how are you?" Hermione asked.

"I'm good aunty Mione" he said.

"That's great. How about you go find Hugo, I think he's outside" she said.

At this, Albus ran towards the back door and straight out the back.

"Mums having a dinner" Ginny said.

"That's great for you guys. Have fun" she said sarcastically.

"You're still family" Ginny said.

"No I'm not. Not anymore" she said.

"Well mum has asked specifically for you and the kids to come, so I'm here to make you come" Ginny said.

"Gin, really… I think I'm still drunk from Friday night. The last thing I need is to hang around with my ex-husbands' brothers and have them tell me what a twat he is. I know he's a twat. I don't need to be reminded" Hermione said.

"You went out? With who?" Ginny asked.

"That's what you got from that?" Hermione asked.

"Tell me everything" Ginny said.

Hermione explained the night to Ginny, as much as she could remember. She had vague flashes of the conversation she had with Malfoy and remembered dancing with her shoes off. One thing she did remember is leaving in a hurry and him handing her his card.

"Are you going to text him?" Ginny asked.

"This is Malfoy. Draco Malfoy. He's a death eater, Ginny" Hermione said.

"Oh nonsense. You don't believe any of that still exists, do you?" she asked.

"Well, he did make all our lives hell" she said.

"It's also been more than 15 years. And he apologised. People change" she said

"Maybe" Hermione said, thinking if it could be true. Do people change?

"Don't you want a bit of.. You know… TLC?" Ginny asked.

"Funny you should mention that…" Hemione began.

"You didn't?" Ginny asked.

"Didn't what?" Hermione questioned.

"Sleep with Malfoy in a drunken haze?" she asked.

"Merlin no. Oh my god Ginny, no way" she said.

"Well, what then" Ginny asked.

"I kind of snuck into Ron's place. Last time we went out. I left early and went to his place" Hermione said.

"Woah. That's huge. Why am I finding this out just now?" she asked.

"Harry doesn't know?" Hermione asked.

"No. Ron hasn't said anything" she said.

"I'm mortified Gin. Truly. He basically let me have my way with him in a sloppy drunken stupor and then kicked me out. But not before he told me not to tell anyone and said that he was in a serious relationship with _Vivienne_ who now lives with him and picked out all his furniture… Oh, and he works out now" she said.

"What the fuck Hermione" was all Ginny could say.

"I know. I'm horrified" Hermione said.

"Listen, you need to find someone else. Someone good looking. Someone who I imagine would be amazing in bed" she said.

"Let me guess, someone like Malfoy?" Hermione asked.

"How did you know?" she asked, smiling.

"Forget about it, it's not going to happen" Hermione said.

"Just come to dinner then" Ginny said.

"Fine. Fine! Give us half an hour" Hermione said.

Hermione found herself standing in the familiar lane way, leading up to the familiar house that stood on familiar wooden pillars. The Burrow had been extended more than Hermione ever thought was possible in recent years and there was absolutely no way it was possible that it existed without magic.

She approached the kitchen door and Rose and Huge entered straight away.

"Oh my darlings, how are you both?" Molly Weasley asked them, wrapping them in enormous hugs.

"We're good, Nan" they both replied.

Hermione carefully strolled up to Mrs Weasley and smiled. Molly pulled her into a hug, much the same as she had with the children.

"My girl, how I have missed you" Molly said, not releasing her.

"I missed you too" Hermione said back, a tear escaping her eyes.

The two women parted and began to engage in general conversation. Molly asked how the children were doing at school.

"They're both doing really well. Rose is expected to graduate top of her class next week and Hugo… Well, he's Ron all over, but still very smart. Great mind, just lacks the enthusiasm that Rose has" she said.

"Sounds like you and Ron" Molly said. "How are you doing my dear?" she asked.

"I'm well. The house is looking nice now. You'll have to come visit some time, if you'd like" she said,

"I think that would be nice" Molly said, brushing away a tear.

"I have done really well at work. So well in fact that they no longer require my position" Hermione said.

"What on earth does that mean?" Molly asked.

"Well, I'll still be paid the next years wage, as it was initially funded for three, but the job no longer exists" Hemione advised.

"That's abhorrent" Molly said.

"Abhorrent? Really mum?" asked George who had just entered the room.

"Hey George" said Hermione.

"Hermione" he said, as he pulled her into a hug that lifted her off her feet.

"How's the shop?" she asked.

"Booming" he said, picking a piece of carrot from the pot that Molly was scooping vegetables out of and popping it in his mouth. "Oh, hot" he said, blowing out of his mouth.

"That's what you get for being impatient" Molly said.

"Well, you know what it's like around here, you gotta get in quick" he said,

The night went surprisingly well. Hermione was ecstatic to see most of the Weasleys and their primary school aged children. They _were_ family to Hermione. No matter what Ron did with his life.

Hermione went home with her children, late, with a sense of accomplishment. That was the first dinner she had been to since the divorce. Since she thought that everyone would hate her for walking out on Ron. For failing to give him another chance. It turned out, everyone loved her. Far more than she knew.

She laid in her bed with a warm sense of belonging that night.

She fell asleep easily and dreamt of the Burrow and its surrounding orchids. She had really missed that place.

The week went by really slowly. With Hermione out of work, on the days she wasn't helping at the school, she had nothing to do but watch TV or read a book. She had read most of the books in her library, more than once. By Thursday, she was so bored that she had decided to clean out her collection of purses.

She sorted them into piles of ones that she wanted to keep and ones she wanted to donate to charity. She made sure to keep the ones that had been magically enhanced, or else, remove the charm, at least.

When she came to her simple black purse, she opened it, remembering having a chunk of cash in there that she didn't spend last weekend. She took out the cash and with it, the business card of

Draco Malfoy  
Alchemist  
Head of Law Enforcement research for the Northern Hemisphere  
Currently specialising in muggle rights  
+44 7911 123456

Hermione fiddled with the card for a while, reading over it a few times. How had be become an accomplished alchemist and head of research for the entire northern hemisphere? She had always thought him to be lazy and incompetent, although still intelligent enough to have made top of a lot of their classes. Perhaps she was wrong to have abandoned him the way she did that night at the club?

She went into the living room and retrieved her mobile phone from the coffee table where it normally lived. She opened the message app and typed in his number. For some reason, she hadn't expected it to work but the phone recognised it as a valid number and she now had to come up with a text.

H- Hey its Hermione Granger.

D- Granger, I must say, I hoped you'd be in touch sooner.

H- Yes, well, I wasn't sure I would

D- why not?

H- I didn't think you'd want me to after I ran out on you the other night.

D- You did? I must have missed that ?

H- Yeah right. Well, I'm sorry about that. I had a moment.

D- Yes, I noticed.

H- Hard not to

D- Hey, we all do it.

H- Well, I am sorry.

D- I'll forgive you on one condition…

H- What's that?

D- Have dinner with me

H- Sure, I'll pencil you in for 7 years from now when I'm free.

D- You don't want to?

H- School is over as of tomorrow.

D- Bring them along.

H- Don't be ridiculous.

D- I'm not.

H- That will go down well 'hey kids, this is my teenage mortal enemy who is now kind of a nice guy, lets all have dinner'. Nope, not going to happen Malfoy.

D- kind of a nice guy?

H- Don't push it Malfoy.

D- Ok, well when do they go to Weasels?

H- Next weekend.

D- Well there you have it. Pencil that in Granger. I'm taking you out.

H- We'll see.

D- Ok, well how has your week been?

H- It's been slow

D- Why?

H- Let me see, I am unemployed, so have nothing to do. I have read all the books in my library so have nothing to read. Daytime TV sucks and everyone I know works. Oh, and I have been doing canteen at my children's school with the gossipy mum types who I cant stand.

D- That sounds pretty tough.

H- Its mortifying.

D- Can I help?

H- Unless you have a time machine? I can go back and work much slower on my research.

D- Sorry, all the time turners got destroyed. I think by you and your friends. Or so the rumours say.

H- Hmm, sorry, can't confirm that.

D- I knew it.

H- I'm not surprised

D- What are you doing today

H- Cleaning out my purses. That's when I found your card.

D- So you weren't avoiding me, you just lost my number. Makes me feel better.

H- Why are you so eager to have me text you? To take me out to dinner?

D- Yes. And because you're interesting.

H- ok.

D- No, I mean, you're more than what's on the surface. I never knew that. I want to know more about you.

Hemione was thrown by this last text. How could Draco Malfoy have any kind of depth to him? He's always been so… so Malfoy. The same one who bought his way into quidditch, the one who made fun of her teeth and her hair, the same one who caused her so much grief.

D- What do you say?

She hesitated. Instead of replying to Malfoy, she sent a text to Ginny.

H- Can I come over? Need advice.

G- Sure. Just got home from training.

Hermione grabbed her handbag and turned on the spot, concentrating on Grimmauld Place. She arrived on the Potter's doorstep and reached for the doorbell.

In the last 17 years, Harry and Ginny had paid a vast number of the most highly skilled witches and wizards to renovate the old Black house. Harry really struggled with the idea of making that place his home for so long, but in the end, he wanted to be somewhere that meant something. Even if it was just once the short term home of the Order and the place Sirius hated, Harry made it something to love. A place to call home. Something for Sirius to have been proud of. So now, instead of being a dreary old place that reminded everyone of some of the darkest witches and wizards of the 70s, 80s and 90s, it had been completely gutted, the internal walls had been removed, the rear had been completely opened up and it was now a beautiful place, full of light and love.

Hermione was greeted at the door by Ginny, still in her training gear.

"Sorry, when I said I had been training, I literally had just been training" she said.

"That's ok… Oh, I like this" Hermione said, indicating to a new hutch that was placed in the hallway. They walked down the brightly lit hallway and into a beautiful living room. Stairs led down to a modern kitchen and up to another 2 floors of bedrooms, bathrooms, a study, and a playroom for the kids.

"I still can never get over how great this place looks now. It's so modern. So muggle. Its great" Hermine said.

"It should be, we paid enough to have all those charms removed" she said.

"Remember how hard it was to have Sirius's mum taken down?" Hermione reminisced.

"What did it take, like ten or so witches and wizards to have a go at it?" Ginny asked.

Yes, something like that, all the while she screamed at them" Hermione said.

"Get off me you filthy half blood, you blood traitor" Ginny said in a perfect rendition of the ancient woman's portrait while they both laughed.

"So, spill. What is so urgent that you had to rush on over here?" Ginny asked, sitting down on the lounge.

"I better show you" Hermione said, handing her the phone with the messages open.

Ginny scrolled through and looked up at Hermione.

"He's flirting with you" she said.

"No he's not, he's probably just trying to manipulate me and make me out to be an idiot" Hermione said, her paranoia now in full bloom.

"What? You're crazy. It's been 17 years since school. 17 years since the end of the battle. You're completely different and it appears, so is he" she said.

"But Gin… This is _Malfoy_" Hermione said. Trying to make Ginny see the gravity of all of this.

"Yes. It is. He's also a good-looking man" Ginny said.

"So you think I should have dinner with him?" Hermione asked.

"I think you should let him bend you over the nearest solid object and let him bang you like a screen door in a hurricane" Ginny said, throwing her trainers across the room.

"GINNY!" Hermione said, blushing.

"Come on, don't tell me you never thought about it. He is looking fucking fine" she said

"Of course I have but you can't talk like that" she said.

"Why not? Men talk like that all the time. Except Harry of course" Ginny said.

"Yeah right, Harrys a true gentleman" Hermione said. At this the two women burst into fits of laughter.

When they stopped, Hermione noticed Ginny tapping away on her phone.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm texting him back for you" she said.

"No, don't. I will text him, I promise" Hermione said, making a grab for her phone.

"You better" Ginny said, handing the phone back.

H- What do you want to know?

There, I sent him a text.

"You call that a text? He's been openly flirting with you; you need to flirt back a little" Ginny said.

"Ok, Mrs expert, how am I supposed to know that? My relationship experience extends to Viktor and Ron. I have no idea what I'm actually doing" she said.

"Just be you. But, a little nicer. You're doing well so far" Ginny said.

"I'm just having a conversation with him. Nothing really flirty about it" Hermione told her.

"You and Ron never sent lovey texts?" Ginny asked.

"This is Ron we're talking about. Emotional range of a teaspoon? Remember?" Hermione asked. "We spent years building up to our relationship, fighting our feelings for one another. Before that, Viktor followed me around the library when we were fourteen. Flirting is not something I am big on" she said.

"Fine, just be yourself. Play a little coy though. Let him take you out to dinner and wear something casual but sexy. You've got the goods Hermione. Get them out" Ginny said.

"Gee, thanks Gin. So helpful" Hermione said, as her phone buzzed.

D- I want to know if you'll let me take you out.

"You pick the day, let him pick the location" Ginny said.

H- Tuesday lunch

"Will you watch the kids?" Hermione asked as she hit send.

Ginny just nodded with a huge smile on her face.

D- I know the place

H- Let me know where and I'll meet you there at 1230 on Tuesday.

D- Make it 12

H- 12 works for me

D- What am I going to do between now and Tuesday?

H- Think about me

"Yes" Ginny said, reading over Hermione's shoulder.

D- Probably

H- In what way?

D- What do you mean?

"This is mortifying" Hermione said, before tapping out another text.

"No its not, it's the best thing ever" Ginny said.

H- How will you think about me?

D- Probably in that dress you were wearing the other night

"Or out of it" Ginny said.

H- Or out of it?

D- I wasn't going to say that, but most likely.

"Merlin Ginny, this is _Malfoy_" Hermione said.

"I know. I wonder what he's like in bed" Ginny said.

"You're a married woman. To one of my best friends" Hermione reminded her.

"Oh I know that, but I can still live vicariously through you" she laughed.

"We'll see" Hermione said.

H- Well, you do that, I've got things to be doing.

D- I'll see you Tuesday

H- See you then.

**Next chapter isn't too far off :-)**  
**Please review**


	6. Chapter 6

**Told ya it would be up quick. Enjoy**

**xx**

On Tuesday, Hermione dropped the children off and got ready at Harry and Ginny's place.

"I'm so nervous" she said, looking at her reflection in the mirror. She wore tight fitting casual jeans and a nice top that accentuated her bust and her small waist.

"Don't be, you look great. Just be yourself" Ginny said, smoothing her hair down.

"I feel like a teenager" she said.

"How could you possibly feel like a teenager? When you were a teenager, romance was the last thing you were thinking of, you were out saving the world" Ginny said.

"Oh trust me, there was romance involved. It was all on the sly" Hermione said, remembering back to the times she and Ron fell asleep holding hands or when they purposely stood beside each other to disapparate, just so they could touch. The lingering stares, the longing to be close… but also, the loss, the fear, the doubt. It was all things associated with Ron, who had since betrayed her, not once or even twice but multiple times.

"Besides, this isn't romance. It's just two adults having lunch together. Besides, we're sort of work colleagues in a way. So it's a work lunch. Hmm, yes, that's right. A work lunch" she said, having regretted the slight flirting she had done with him the other day via text.

So far, Hermione had lost count of how many times she had changed her mind as to whether or not she actually wanted to flirt with him or if she preferred to take this as a casual lunch. Right at this moment, with her nerves and anxiety in full bloom, she wasn't setting herself up for failure, regret and humiliation, she was certain that this would end with a handshake and that was it.

"Just keep telling yourself that Hermione! But just remember, I'm happy to keep the kids here for the night" Ginny said, getting excited on Hermione's behalf.

"It's definitely not going to come to that" Hermione said.

"You never know" Ginny said.

"It's a casual lunch between ex colleagues, there's no way it will be anything more" Hermione said.

"Well, I doubt that but whatever. Its eleven thirty so you better get going" Ginny said.

At this, Hermione called the kids down from the playroom, said goodbye and left via the front door. The wards of the house meant that neighbours saw only an empty verandah, so Hermione cleared her mind of all the worries and concerns she had about how this lunch might eventuate, thought of the place she had to apparate to out of muggle view, and turned on the spot.

Hermione arrived in what appeared to be the back of a store. It had been disguised so, so that witches and wizards could apparate in and out without being seen by muggles.

"Good afternoon ma'am, you in London for business or pleasure?" came the voice of an elderly wizard.

"Both" she said, thinking that this could in fact go either way.

"Ah, very well, very well. That will be three sickles" he said.

Hermione just looked at him curiously. She had never had to pay before.

"Rent prices are not what they used to be madam, we can't operate on just sales alone" he said, indicating to the second-hand goods in the front room.

"Certainly" Hermione said, handing over four sickles. "Keep the change" she said.

She exited the store through the back, which was customary as to avoid muggle detection. Afterall, it was a second-hand goods store and it would seem a little odd if loads of people came in and out all day long, especially without buying anything.

Hermione walked down the alley, her boots clicking on the pavement. She regretted wearing them immediately, but they were comfortable and looked good, so that regret was quickly overcome.

It was about a ten-minute walk to the café that Malfoy had told her about via text, and in the looming summer, it was a nice walk. As usual, she was early, so she took a seat and ordered herself a glass of water.

As she waited, her heart rate was increasing, and her palms were becoming sweaty. She was scolding herself for feeling this way, particularly when she had convinced herself that this was purely business and not at all a 'date'.

She had drank half the glass of water in front of her when she noticed him walk in. As soon as she saw him, she knew that there was no way this was going to be purely business. He looked hott as hell. He wore designer jeans that fit him just right and a white shirt that had three buttons at the top undone. The shirt revealed a toned body underneath and muscles that Hermione didn't know he had hidden beneath the clothing she had seen him in previously.

As he approached the table, she felt herself blush at the thoughts that were now entering her mind. Thoughts Ginny would be proud of.

Hermione stood as he got nearer to the table. Unexpectedly, he kissed her on the cheek, something that threw her completely. She had the briefest moment to inhale his scent which was subtle but incredible. She was in a daze.

"I uh… I just sat here to wait for you, we can get another table if you like? Closer to the back?" she asked.

"Sure" he said, flashing a grin. He had sensed her fluster. Hermione continued to admonish herself.

A waitress approached the couple and Malfoy went into full charm mode.

"Hello, we'd like a quiet booth somewhere in the back if possible" he said, smiling at the girl, who didn't stand a chance.

"Have you always been so… charming?" Hermione asked him quietly as the woman led them to a booth away from the rest of the crowd.

"Absolutely" he said.

They took their place in the booth and ordered drinks as the woman gave them their menus.

"I'm not that hungry" Hermione said, filling the silence as she looked over the menu.

"You're nervous" Malfoy said, causing Hermione to look up and see that he hadn't picked up his menu at all, just looked at her.

"I'm not, I just had a big breakfast" she said, lying. She was freaking out.

"Just breathe Granger. This doesn't have to be a _date_, we're just having lunch" he said.

"Of course its not a date, I agreed to go out for lunch so you'd shut up" she said, feeling embarrassed that he had declared within the first 5 minutes that this was not a date. She wanted him to think she had the upper hand. That she was in control. As much as she felt completely otherwise.

"Well, I'd like it to be a date, but you're surely convinced that its not, so its not" he said, picking up his menu and gazing over it.

Hermione held hers up higher to suppress her grin. He _wanted_ a date. This could go either way.

"I might have the caesar salad, with chicken" she said, putting her menu down.

"Hmm, good choice. I'll go with the salmon" he said, causing Hermione to supress a chuckle.

"What?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing" she said.

"You're almost bursting, trying to hide your amusement. What is it?" he asked, smiling.

"I expected you to order the steak or surf and turf or something. Its strange to eat with someone who likes to eat different food" she said.

"You really have lived a sheltered life, haven't you?" he asked.

"Sheltered?"

"I'm guessing Weasley is a meat and three veg kind of guy?" he asked.

"Something like that. Or he would have ordered four mains and three desserts" she said, remembering her embarrassment at him doing so while they went out to celebrate their wedding anniversary one year.

"That's barbaric" he said.

"That's what I told him. But of course I was just being '_up myself_' and had to loosen up a little" she said.

"I must say, so far… Still not a fan of Weasley" he said.

"You know what, neither am I" she said, "Not anymore" she added.

"So how did that all come about?" he asked.

"Me and Ron?"

He nodded.

"Merlin, it was just… I don't actually know. We always had this sort of messed up chemistry. It was love hate for so long and with everything that happened with the war, the time we spent on the run, the battle, it just sort of happened" she said.

"So there was no grand gesture, it was like, one minute you're friends, next minute you're bed hopping?"

"Well, no, it wasn't exactly like that" she began.

They were interrupted by the waitress who took their orders swiftly and left as quickly as she had arrived.

"What was it like then?" he asked.

"Why are you so interested?" she asked.

"Like I said, I want to get to know you" he said.

"Well, Ron and I had a moment, within the battle. It was a live or die type of moment where we thought that we ought to stop fighting our feelings and just be together. From that moment on, we were a couple" she said, shrugging.

"So there was no passion, no expression of "_I need you in my life_'?" he asked, animatedly, causing Hermione to almost spit out her drink.

"Merlin, with Ron? No. We both knew what we had and that was enough for us" she said, wondering if that was true.

"Sounds like a romantic guy" Malfoy said sarcastically.

"Yeah, about as romantic as this glass" she said indicating to the glass she held in her hand.

"See, that's where you're wrong. The glass is _very_ romantic, well, very trustworthy at least, but the two go hand in hand. It holds onto whatever you put into it and won't let it go until you tell it to. Till you pour it out. Its completely clear so you can see straight through it. No lies, no bullshit" he said, touching the side of her glass as she held it, brushing her fingers slightly. He looked through the glass into her eyes and continued. "This glass, wont break unless you drop it, it wont falter unless you spill it. This glass, it's not just a glass" he said.

"Wow, you're smooth" she said, feeling a little affected by his words. "And I'm guessing you're like the glass?" she asked.

"I can be if you allow me to be. Of course, you can smash me on the floor and I'll break into a thousand pieces, or you can hold onto me and I'll be solid, reliable and trustworthy" he said.

"So, what I get out of a _friendship_ with you will depend on what I put in. That's what you're saying?" she asked.

"Not at all. What I'm saying is that as long as you hold onto me, I'll be there for you. Not just you, that goes for anyone. I'm just as fragile as the next person, but I can also be very strong" he said, shocking Hermione with his openness.

"That's very deep, Malfoy" she said.

"I'm just trying to impress you" he said.

"Well, I'll let you know when it starts to work" she said, smiling, before taking a sip out of her glass of water.

Malfoy just smiled to himself.

It got Hermione wondering... Was Ron a glass too? Had she poured all of herself into him and had he been strong until she let go? Had she let go? Was that why he cheated on her?

"I've lost you" Malfoy said.

"Just thinking of your glass analogy" she said.

"And?"

"Well, it can work either way can't it? Someone can be so full of another person's _stuff_ that they can start to spill out. Maybe the other person doesn't realise when they drop the glass and can't see the glass shatter beneath their feet because they're so caught up in their life? Maybe it's the holder's responsibility to make sure that the glass stays firmly in their hand?" she asked.

"You trying to take responsibility for Weasley cheating on you?" he asked.

"Maybe" she said, feeling sullen.

"No. Definitely not. Dot you dare" he said.

"You don't know what our relationship was like. I was a shrew" she said.

"Nothing gives someone the right to do that. He had you in his life, he could have kept hold of you, but _he_ dropped _you_. Then picked up another glass" he said.

"This whole glass thing is not working for me, I must say" she said.

"Me too, but it's all I had at the time. It sort of made sense though, didn't it?" he asked.

"It actually did. We do all hold each other in a very precarious position. Whether it be friends, partners or anything else. We make the choice to let people in or out of our lives, or to drop them, sometimes shattering them into a million pieces. I guess that's what happened to me" Hermione said, wondering why she was being so honest with him so so soon.

"But look at you now. You're thriving" he said.

"I'd hardly call it that" she said.

"What would you call it?" he asked.

"Surviving? Barely" she said.

"Why barely?" he asked.

"I don't know. People need human company, don't they? I have that, I have two wonderful little people who provide me with company, but I guess there's something missing" she said.

She sensed him hesitate and realised her mistake.

"Oh, merlin I'm such an insensitive idiot" she said.

"No, its fine" he said.

"No, its completely not. Here I am, whinging and complaining about my marriage, about Ron's cheating asshole ways and you're dealing with an actual loss. Two in fact. I'm such an idiot" she said.

"You're not an idiot" he said. "Besides, it makes sense. Humans are designed to be social creatures. To thrive on the company of a partner. We both probably know how this feels as much as the other" he said.

Hermione's reply was interrupted by the arrival of their meal. It looked and smelled delicious.

As she began to eat, she thought about how he must be feeling. He was dealing with the death of his wife and baby, which was only a few years ago, and sitting here, trying to flirt with her.

"I really am sorry... About your wife" Hermione said.

"Its ok. Its been a few years now and I know that things happen for a reason" he said.

"But you must feel sort of ripped off?" she asked.

"I do. To have my wife and my child taken from me in a matter of minutes. It felt like the world was having a laugh at me. But I know why it happened and I'm not angry" he said.

"Why? What do you mean?" she asked.

"Karma" he said plainly.

"No way. Don't say that. No one deserves that" she said. Maybe once upon a time she may have thought he deserved it, but now she was much older and had lost a child of her own and she knew that pain. No one deserved that. No one. Not even Malfoy.

"Sometimes I wonder if I do. I mean, I did some horrible things" he said.

"I of all people know that, but I have forgiven you. The universe forgives you. Losing your wife and your baby was not a punishment for anything. Just one of those things that happens. If it were a punishment, I would have done something wrong also, because I too lost a baby" she said.

"You lost a baby?" he asked.

"My twins were supposed to be triplets. One of the babies had stopped growing and they missed it" she said.

"Well, look at this. We're bonding over mutual loss" he said.

"Morbid, isn't it?" she said.

"Perhaps" he said.

"I'm really glad I came out to lunch with you" she said, trying ever so daintily to eat her meal.

"Me too" he said.

"Maybe we can be the thing to curb each other's loneliness" she said.

He just looked at her, when she said this. She sensed that he wanted to say something, but he didn't. Instead, they ate the rest of their meals in silence.

"Did you want to order dessert?" Malfoy asked, when they had both finished eating.

"Ohh, I do have a sweet tooth. What's on the menu?" she asked.

"Chocolate mud cake with ice cream or bread and butter pudding" he said.

"Oh we have to try the mud cake. But I'll share with you. I couldn't possibly have one to myself" she said.

This topic of discussion led them into an interesting conversation about food, all the things they liked and didn't like, the foods they had tried and those they wouldn't. Malfoy had tried many exotic foods from all the places he visited across Europe and Hermione had eaten things in Australia that he had never heard of.

Hermione found herself relaxing into easy banter with Malfoy. It was so simple. There was no trying with him. The conversation flowed so naturally and easily. Before they knew it, dessert had arrived.

"It looks amazing" Hermione said after the waitress had put it down in the middle of the table and walked away.

"She only left one spoon" Hermione said, handing the spoon to Malfoy.

He took a small bit of the cake, as well as some of the ice cream and held it out for Hermione. She had never been fed like this. It was quite intimate. The dessert was delicious.

"Oh my…" she said as she closed her eyes, taking in the flavour of the food.

"Oh, this is amazing isn't it?" said Malfoy taking a bit of his own.

They continued like this, with Malfoy eventually giving Hermione the spoon to finish the plate off for herself.

When they were done, Hermione was hesitant to leave.

"I've had a really good time" she said.

"Me too" he said, standing up and putting on his jacket that had been slung over the seat.

"I really didn't expect to" she said.

"I knew that, the moment I walked in" he said.

"How did you know?" she asked, taking her purse off the table and following him towards the front of the restaurant.

"You were so tense" he said, taking the paper bill from the cashier. "You were nervous, mixing up your words and your palms were sweaty" he said, as he tapped his muggle bank card on the eftpos machine before walking out the door into the street. "Plus, when I kissed you on the cheek, you were breathing really quickly" he said.

"Well, I was nervous" she said, as they stood out on the pavement.

"Why?" he asked.

"Well, I kept telling myself that this wasn't a date. That we were just two ex-work colleagues having a casual lunch" she said.

"And now?" he asked.

"That felt like a date to me. Although I haven't really ever been on one, so I don't know" she admitted.

"How about I take you on another one? This time, it will be a date for real and we'll both _know_ that it's a date?" he asked.

"That sounds like a plan" she said.

"What are you doing tonight?" he asked, a cheeky grin on his face.

"I…" she tried to think of some lie. Something to get her out of a follow-up date so soon, but she couldn't think of anything. She certainly didn't want to leave right now; she was having a good time.

"I just have to check on my children, but as long as they're ok, I'm free. What did you have in mind?" she asked, beginning to walk down the street.

"Way to put a man on the spot" he said.

"Movie?" she asked.

"And dinner" he said.

"I couldn't eat a thing. How about movie and popcorn" she said.

"Sounds like a plan" he said.

Hermione reached into her purse and pulled out a small piece of paper. She looked around and when she saw that no muggles were watching, she tapped it with her wand, making her address appear on it. She hesitated before handing it to Malfoy, old habits relating to trust popping to the surface of her mind.

"Pick me up at 7?" she said, as they reached the alley where she would disapparate to Harry and Ginny's place.

"I'll see you then" he said, kissing her hand, making her tingle, before walking off in the direction they came from.

Hermione felt like a giddy teenager as she entered the store. She handed over three sickles and disapparated to the doorstep of Harry and Ginny's place.

**xx**

**I have the next 3 chapters written and the next 3 planned out. Stay tuned. Its going to be a good weekend**.


	7. Chapter 7

Hermione and Ginny rehashed the entire lunch again and again for the next two hours.

"That thing about the glass. That is almost so lame that its sweet" Ginny said.

"I just didn't know what to make of the whole thing. I had a really good time Ginny. Its freaking me out just a bit" Hermione said.

"Well, obviously you had a good time because now you're going on a real date" Ginny said.

"It's the movies. We don't have to talk" Hermione said.

"People only go on dates to the movies to sit up the back and snog. Isn't that what you asked him there for?" Ginny asked.

"Godric no. That's not why people go to the movies, is it? Merlin Ginny. Now he's going to think I want to snog him all throughout the movie. I actually just want to go on a date and hang around someone who doesn't talk about video games and '_What is Hogwarts like? Who are the teachers going to be? What things am I going to learn?_'. Its driving me bonkers" Hermione said.

"James was the same. I almost wanted him to go just so he would shut up about it" Ginny said.

"How is James settling back in to home life?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, fine. He's up in his room mostly, writing to his friends. Reminds me so much of Ron after his first year. Always writing to Harry" Ginny said.

"And Harry never wrote back" Hermione laughed.

"What's this about Harry?" came the voice of Harry from the hallway.

Ginny got up and flung herself at her husband. They were almost too much sometimes, but Hermione adored the way they loved each other. Still just like teenagers.

"We were talking about the end of first year" Hermione said.

Harry tore his face away from his wife's kisses long enough to laugh.

"When Dobby kept all of my letters?" Harry said.

"That's right, it was Dobby who did that" Hermione said, "I thought it was your uncle" she added.

"And how about when Ron and George and Fred came in the car and got you? That was insane" Ginny said, the sadness at the mention of Fred still cut like a knife and everyone felt it.

The three of them reminisced about old times for the next hour or so, until Hermione looked at the clock.

"Merlin, I have to go home and get ready for my date" she said.

"Date?" Harry asked.

"Yep. Hermione's going on a date with _Malfoy_" Ginny said.

"Don't say it like that" Hermione said.

"Like what?"

"Like its something dirty" Hermione said.

"Well, we can only hope, can't we?" Ginny said, giggling.

Hermione just shook her head, standing up from the lounge and called out to her children.

They were happy to stay the night with their cousins and hear all about Hogwarts from James. Hermione hadn't told them she would be teaching there yet. In fact, she hadn't told anybody.

She left the house and disapparated directly into her own living room. The house was quiet, and she regretted it immediately. She needed noise to keep her mind from going into overdrive

Malfoy would knock on her door in an hour and a half. He had her address; he knew where she lived. There was no backing out now.

She dressed in one of her more sensible dresses that came to halfway between her knees and her ankles, not too over the top but not too casual. She accompanied this with a light cardigan and some boots that met the bottom of the dress. She straightened her hair and pulled half of it out of her face, holding it in place with a clip.

As 7pm approached, she looked in the mirror, perfecting the last of her make up and went into the living room. This would be the night that decided what this _thing_ between herself and Malfoy was, or would be. They were now _dating_ which in most circumstances, meant they would kiss at the end of the night. Hermione had watched movies about people dating in their 20s and 30s and wondered if she was one of the ones who held back for three or four dates or if she was one to jump into bed on the first date. Technically this was going to be their second date though, so if she were so inclined, it wouldn't make her easy if she slept with him tonight. Would it? She had no idea. She didn't see herself even kissing Malfoy tonight let alone dragging him home and into her bed. That was logical Hermione thinking. The primal part of Hermione, the part that Ginny would get along with really well was desperate to take him home and do all kinds of things to her body that just longed for a touch of some kind.

She had to make a decision though, before the night began. She would stick to her morals, no matter what happened, and not allow herself to go there. She could kiss him, if he made a move to, but she needed to give it some time.

As she was making these decisions about her night, the doorbell rang.

Her heart beat thundered in her chest as she put her hand on the doorknob to open it. She knew he was out there and that this would be the beginning of the first date she had ever been on. A date with Draco Malfoy, of all people.

She pulled the door open and was surprised to see him standing there with an amazing bunch of flowers in his hand.

"I didn't have much time to prepare, but these are for you" he said, handing over the flowers. Was she swooning? She was definitely swooning. Ron never bought her flowers.

"Oh my. These are beautiful. I don't even have a vase" she said, stepping back so he could enter. "Come in, I'll find something" she said, leading him through the house into the kitchen.

"Your house is amazing" he said, looking around.

"It isn't much, but it will do for us" she said.

"No, it's incredible" he said.

Hermione pulled out a glass dish and with her wand, transfigured it into a beautiful vase. She was surprised it worked, given how anxious and blown away she was.

"I'll just take these out of the plastic. Make yourself comfortable" she said, cutting the plastic from around the stems.

Malfoy sat on the stood at the breakfast bar, taking in the kitchen. There were awards and pictures on the fridge and photos in frames on the walls.

"These are your twins?" he asked, having stood up as quickly as he sat down to look at the photos on the walls

"Oh yes, that's Rose and Hugo" she said, putting water into the vase.

"They look a lot like you. Well, Rose does. Hugo looks like his father, poor fellow" Malfoy said with a chuckle.

"He has the attitude to match" Hermione said.

"Are they starting Hogwarts next semester?" he asked.

"They are actually. As am I" she said, caught off-guard by her admission to him before she had even told her best friends.

"You" he asked.

"Muggle studies professor" she said. "I wasn't too sure, but McGonagall seems to want me there and there isn't going to be much here for me" she said.

"That sounds like it will suit you perfectly" he said.

"I think it will" she replied, placing the now full vase on the kitchen bench, adjusting the flowers slightly. "They're beautiful, thank you" she said.

"It was nothing" he said.

"Well, shall we go?" she asked. "I can lower the wards so we can disapparate from inside" she said.

"That won't be necessary, I have a car" he said.

"You drove?" she asked, heading for the front door.

"I am full of surprises" he said.

She collected her jacked, just in case, and her purse and once they were both outside, she locked the door behind them. The car that was parked in the driveway was something like she had never seen before. Ron had always been into cars and had posters of them in their garage when they lived together, but she hadn't seen anything that looked like this before.

"Its beautiful" she said.

"One of a kind. I picked it up in Italy. Cost me a fortune but I love it" he said.

"Showing off, are we?" she asked.

"Maybe a little" he said, opening the passenger door for her.

The interior of the car was as sleek as the outside. All black leather with smooth black acrylic on the dash. It almost made Hermione want to buy herself a car. She had one previously, but didn't use it, so she sold it.

The drive to the movie theatre took about 30 minutes. Hermione had no idea where they were going. It wasn't the one closest to where she lived, but she didn't mind. He obviously had plans, so she allowed him to take the lead. The conversation between them in the car ride was smooth and flowed easily. Hermione felt like she had known Malfoy forever, even though she had known him since she was 11, in a way, she felt like they had been friends forever. She really felt like he was someone she could trust. Someone she could talk to about anything.

They arrived at the movies early and Malfoy paid for their tickets, ever the gentleman.

"I'll pay next time" she said. He just rolled his eyes as she nudged his arm with her shoulder.

With arms full of popcorn, chocolates and drinks, they entered the movie theatre and took their seats. The banter between them had been so easy that Hermione was regretting the choice of the movies. She wanted to know so much more about him, about his life and everything that happened after the war.

They continued chatting throughout the previous, earning 'shushes' from those around them. They were quiet once the movie started and Hermione felt herself completely distracted by his presence next to her. At about the halfway mark, without having taken in much of the movie at all, Hermione had to excuse herself.

She went out into the hall and inhaled the cool air out there. She was breathless from sitting beside him and breathing in his scent. He smelled so good. She had never sat so close to a man who was so intoxicating. Ron certainly never made her feel that way.

After a few minutes, before she was ready to go back in, Malfoy came out in the hall, looking for her.

"I thought you'd run out on me" he said.

"The thought crossed my mind" she said.

He looked stunned for a moment.

"I thought… I thought we were having a good time?" he asked, looking concerned.

"We were. We are. Maybe too good a time?" she said.

"Do you want to get out of here?" Go for a walk along the river?" he asked.

"That sounds really good. Fresh air" she said, heading towards the cinema to collect her things.

"Wait here, I'll get our things" he said.

She waited a minute or so for him to return before they both left the building.

"The movie was good, don't you think?" he asked her, as they strolled towards the river. It was only a few minutes' walk away, so there was no need to take the car.

"I didn't really take much notice" she said.

"It was halfway through. How can you not have been paying attention?" he asked.

"You're very distracting" she said.

"Me?" he said.

"Yes you. With your cologne and your laughing. Its very distracting" she said as they arrived at the railing, overlooking the river.

Before she knew it, Malfoy had stepped closer to her, his height a little unnerving. She took a breath in but didn't feel herself release it. His presence was intoxicating.

He felt his hand move to her face, brushing a stray hair off her cheek in the wind. She closed her eyes, knowing what was coming next. She was right. She felt his lips brush against hers, so gently. He pulled away before she could react, causing her to open her eyes. She saw him in front of her face, looking into her eyes, questioning whether it was ok. She reached her hand up to his neck, standing on her toes to make it easier, and brought their lips together. This time, the kiss was more than a gentle pressing together of their lips. Hermione made it clear that this was more. While they were locked in this embrace, Hermione felt everything that she didn't know she needed, released into this moment. It was a combination of frustration, desire, longing, curiosity and so many things she couldn't place, but in that moment, she was certain that this is what she needed, what she wanted.

As they parted, Hermione breathed heavily, feeling Malfoy do the same.

"Well, that was better than the movie" she said.

"You don't know, you didn't watch it" he said, with a cheeky grin.

"Oh, did you want to go back in there and finish watching?" she asked, sarcastically.

"Merlin no" he said, kissing her once again, pressing her against the raining.

As they parted, Malfoy took her hand and held it in his. Such a simple gesture but it felt quite romantic to Hermione.

The couple walked along the path that followed the course of the river. They talked the whole way, about movies they had seen, places in London they had been. When Hermione saw a bench, she pulled him towards it and sat down.

"I want to know… What happened to you after the war. You said you changed and moved around, but what happened. What did you do?" she asked.

"Well, my family were in Azkaban for a couple of weeks before the trial. It was pretty bad. I won't go into detail, but that time really made me think about the things we had done. My father, of course, he was adamant that he had done nothing wrong, that he was a victim. As you know, he was given a 20 year sentence and died a short time into it" he said

"I am really sorry about that" she said.

"Please, don't be. After he refused to own up to what we had done, I wiped my hands of him. I wanted nothing to do with him. My mother and I were cleared, as you know, thanks to Potter's testimony. We did 6 months of home detention and the day it was up, we went abroad, first to France, then Italy, Germany, wherever we could go, without people recognising us. I studied Alchemy while in Europe…"

"Yes, quite skilled, I've heard" she said, receiving an embarrassed smile from him.

"Yes, well, that remains to be seen. Anyway, we changed our names as soon as we could and moved as soon as someone recognised us. We had my father's family money, but we still wanted to work. My mother met a man in Venice, and wanted to settle down, so I left for America. I travelled a bit before settling in New York. I met up with people from the MACUSA and got myself a job in the law enforcement sector" he said.

"And that's how you got into muggle research?" she asked.

"At first, I was just filling in for someone who was away, but then I was learning so much, realising so much about myself and making actual breakthroughs that I wanted to stay. And they kept me. Made the guy I was covering for, my assistant and promoted me to the head. Eventually, they realised there was no one in the entire northern hemisphere doing the work I was doing, so they made me the lead researcher into Muggle rights in the northern hemisphere. I was in my element Granger; I was doing really good things. I met my wife over there, and we got married within 6 months. We were doing really well; we had a good life. She became pregnant really quickly and even though it was a shock at first, we were really happy to be having a child. We lived in a beautiful apartment that she decorated, we had a nursery that had every space available coloured I pink" he continued.

"You knew you were having a girl?" she asked.

"I had no idea. Astoria knew though. She just had a feeling" he said.

"Astoria?" Hermione asked, knowing the name from somewhere.

"Greengrass" he said.

"Daphne's sister?" she asked.

"That's the one" he said.

"Wow, how incredible that you met all the way over there" she said.

"That's what we thought. I was worried at first, because she had recognised me. But by that point, loads of people had, and I was using my old name again. She wanted to have dinner, she was new to the US and didn't know anyone. Anyway, from that night onwards, we were inseparable" he said.

"That's the sweetest thing ever" Hermione said, feeling like her love story with Ron was just nothing in comparison.

"I thought so. When Astoria went into labour, everything was going great, the labour was fine, she was told to start to push but pretty soon, she just said she felt funny and collapsed. Cassiopeia was halfway out and the cord was stuck. They told me that they could try and revive Astoria and let Cass die or get Cass out and Astoria would die. I couldn't choose, so they tried to save both. It didn't work and they both died that night" he said.

Hermione placed her hand on Malfoy's leg, looking into his eyes.

"I am so sorry that happened" she said. "Cassiopeia is a beautiful name" she added.

"Its constellation is in the shape of a W, but if you turn it upside down…" he began.

"M for Malfoy" she said. "Clever" she added.

They sat looking out to the river for some time, digesting the information that they had just shared. Hermione felt like she knew Malfoy now, more than anybody else, and felt like he knew her too. But there was one burning unanswered question she had left.

"Why did you dance with me that night?" she asked.

"At first I didn't know who you were. I saw everyone else dancing with you and I was drunk. I wanted to see what the fuss was all about. It was a while before I noticed who you were with and saw your face. You don't look like you though. Not really. You're very different and it shocked me. I hadn't ever seen _the_ Hermione Granger having so much fun. I was going to leave but in my drunken haze, I stayed, and we danced. You're quite the dancer too when you don't realise who you're dancing with" he said with a smile.

"Well, that night is all a blur to me" she said.

"If you were anybody else, I might have tried to take you home that night" he admitted.

"Why anybody else?"

"Because I know you. Well, sort of. I knew that once you realised who I was, you would be horrified" he said.

"I was. I still am" she said.

"Ouch" he said.

"Its true. Even now, I sit here, and my 16-year-old self is bashing on the windows screaming at me to run away" she said.

"But you're not" he said.

"No, I'm not" she responded.

There was a long pause before he spoke again.

"So, what now then?" he asked.

Hermione hesitated. What did he mean by that? What now as in, this minute or what now as in this week, next week, the future. Hermione hadn't considered that. She hadn't thought they would have a great night. She hadn't considered that they would kiss, and it would feel so good. She hadn't considered that she would feel a tingling sensation all through her body whenever he was close to her.

"I, uh…" she began.

"How about we go and get some ice cream" he said.

"That sounds like a plan" she said.

They walked, hand in hand, back the way they came, towards the movie theatre where there was an ice-cream store a few doors down. They entered the store and Hermione paid for ice cream.

"It's the least I can do, you paid for the movie we didn't watch" she said.

"It was worth it" he said, making her blush.

They sat back down on the riverbank, this time closer to the shops that lined the street, running parallel to this part of the river. They talked some more while they ate their ice cream and it was really nice. Hermione hadn't had a date like this, ever. She had never had a date, so she had nothing to compare them to, but she guessed this was up there with the best.

Eventually it was time to leave and Hermione reluctantly got into the car as Malfoy held the door open for her.

The drive back to Hermione's house seemed to take forever. The whole way Hermione contemplated whether she was going to invite him in and what that might actually mean. If she did, would he automatically assume she was doing it for sex? Is that what she wanted? The way her body reacted every time he touched her certainly indicated that she wanted to, but logically, was it too soon? By the time they pulled into her driveway, she had decided that it _was _too soon, but she wasn't ready for the night to be over.

Malfoy climbed out of his side of the car and opened the door for her to exit. She walked to the front door while he accompanied her.

She unlocked the front door and pushed it wide open, then turned to face him.

"I had a really good time. I must say, I didn't expect to" she said.

"So did I" he said, before leaning in to kiss her.

As before, it was incredible. She felt warm and tingly from head to toe and a churning build up in her lower abdomen.

"I would really love to invite you in" she said, as soon as their lips parted.

"But" he continued for her.

"But… I know that it's probably not a good idea" she said, "just yet" she finished.

"You're probably right" he said, kissing her again, pressing her into the door frame.

"You keep doing that and my logical brain will disappear" she said when he stopped.

"Hermione Granger, free from logic? Never" he said, taking a step back. "Good night, Granger" he said, stepping off the front porch and walking back to his car.

"Night" was all she could say back as she watched his car drive out of the small street.

**Aww, sweet, yes? **


	8. Chapter 8

**Keep an eye out for an authors note half way through this chapter. Very important to make note of what it contains. **

**mtfunkzoo - i am loving this relationship that has emerged between Hermione and Ginny. They are friends first and foremost, with a sisterly bond. Ginny is so sassy and living vicariously through Hermione's adventure. **

**SereniteRose - I cant help but make Ron the bad guy every time. I don't understand why. I just get bad guy vibes from him. Happy that you're enjoying it. There's more 'Ronitude' to come in future chapters so hold tight. **

**xx**

The rest of the week went really quickly for Hermione. She took her children to the zoo and to some museums. She wanted them as cultured as they could be in muggle artefacts before they were thrown into the magical world.

Malfoy had texted Hermione every day since their date. Their banter was so simple, yet Hermione lived for the brief moments where she could take out her phone and text back and forth with him. They had tried to arrange a second date, but Hermione held off, wanting to spend time with her children. In some ways, it was sort of an excuse, because she as petrified of what she may do if he came to her house and they were alone. She thought about their date over and over again and fantasised about what it might have been like if she had invited him in. Each time, she had to remind herself that she did the logical thing. She used her brain and held back for a reason. If only she could remember what that reason was.

The following week was just the same as the previous.

Ron had asked to have the children for an entire week and Hermione reluctantly obliged. It would be months before they would see him again.

He had even gone as far as to ask if they could meet his girlfriend. She wasn't sure if it was the fact that she had dated Malfoy and she was happy, or that she just didn't care anymore, but she agreed for him to have Vivienne meet the children.

On the Friday, he came to collect the children and had Vivienne in the car. Hermione held her tongue and stayed silent, for the sake of the children. They didn't need to see their mother murder someone.

As soon as Ron had left with the children, Hermione put on some music and tidied up a bit, before texting Ginny.

H- We're going out tonight.

G- If you insist. I'll be over soon.

Hermione had a shower and by the time she was out, Ginny was standing in her kitchen.

The two talked while they both got ready for the night out. Hermione no longer doubted whether she wanted to pursue anything with Malfoy. She was going to take it as it came, allow whatever was meant to be, to be.

"You are putting your future in the hands of fate?" Ginny asked, as they put their shoes on at 8pm.

"Absolutely" she said.

"Why? You can just take control here. Tell him you want a relationship. Monogamy and all of that" Ginny said.

"Hmmm I'm not too sure what it is that I want from all this though. We've been out on one date" Hermione said.

"Two" Ginny corrected.

"A lunch and a date" Hermione said.

"Either way, he is all you have been talking about for the last week and a half. Its obvious that you want something to happen there. Just tell him" she said.

"It's so complicated" Hermione said,

"No Hermione, its really not" she said, picking up her purse.

"Well, you need to sit then because its about to be" Hermione said, sitting on the lounge.

"Oh no" Ginny said.

"I accepted a job at Hogwarts" Hermione spat out.

"Oh Merlin I thought it was something insane like you and Ron were getting back together. So what? You'll be working at the castle. That's great" she said.

"No, its not. You think there will be times like this? Days where I can just leave the castle whenever I want to go on dates? Sleep overs will never happen. It will never work. Look at all the teachers who have ever worked there. All spinsters" Hermione said.

"Well, its about time you got in and shook things up. Its not the 90s anymore Hermione" she said.

"As if you would think I'd get back with Ron. Give me some credit" Hermione said as they linked arms to disapparate.

"You're right. Although, you _did_ crawl into his bed at 2am so… Not surprising" Ginny said with a smile that only Ginny could get away with.

Instantly, Hermione found herself out the front of the club, still linked with Ginny, heading for the front doors.

"Come on in, the VIP area is all set for you ladies" said the security guard.

"Oh, thank you" said Ginny as they walked through the entrance and into the waiting club.

Hermione put fifty Galleons over the bar and asked that they have their bottle filled all night. The bar tender was happy to oblige.

"You're feeling generous tonight" Ginny said.

"I'm in a good mood" she said.

"Let me guess, loverboy is on his way?" Ginny asked.

"I actually don't know, as a matter of fact" she said.

Ginny said nothing but her face gave away her surprise. When the two arrived at the VIP section, Hermione dumped her purse, sat down and poured two drinks.

"Here's to the future" Hermione said.

"Here's to my first game back with the Harpies next weekend" Ginny said.

"Oh my Godric Gin, that's right. Well, here's to you" Hermione said, drinking half her drink at once.

"Slow down woman" Ginny said, casually sipping hers.

"See, this is where we differ a lot. You're the life of the party, you can dance and sing and carry on regardless of alcohol. I on the other hand, I need liquor to get loose" Hermione said, before finishing her drink.

Hermione looked around the club hoping she would see Malfoy. If he wasn't here, it would be the first time she had come and _not_ seen him.

"He'll be here" Ginny said.

"Who?" Hermione asked.

"Don't be silly, I can see you pining for him" Ginny said.

Hermione just rolled her eyes and poured herself another glass.

The pair had another two drinks and loads of gossip before Ginny suggested they dance.

"Yes please, I think I'm tipsy enough for a dance" Hermione said,

The dance floor was pretty packed, as it was most Friday nights around this time. This was Hermione's new favourite place to be and they were soon becoming regulars.

Hermione and Ginny took their spot right in the middle of the dance floor, under the coloured lights and danced for an entire song. Hermione felt so carefree and happy. She didn't know if it was the fact that she wasn't jobless anymore or the fact that she was feeling _wanted_ for the first time in what felt like forever, or if she was just genuinely carefree in this moment, she was just feeling completely at ease with her life.

After a few songs had passed, the music slowed down and Hermione and Ginny were given a reprieve from the upbeat, high energy music that had been playing up until that point.

"Let's sit?" Hermione asked Ginny.

"Uh, I think _he_ has other plans" Ginny said, indicating behind Hermione.

Hermione turned around and was pleased to see Malfoy standing behind her.

"I was beginning to think you weren't coming" Hermione said to him as butterflies fluttered around in her stomach.

"I'll go sit" Ginny said, wandering off towards the VIP seating.

"You said you were having a girl's night" he said.

"That doesn't mean you can't come and say hi" she said, awkwardly standing with him on the dancefloor.

"Well now that I'm here, do you want to dance?" he asked.

"To this?" she asked.

"You don't dance to slow songs?" he asked.

"Well, I don't know, I might. I just don't know if I'm any good at it" she said.

"Give it a go" he said, taking her hand and placing it on his shoulder.

Hermione stepped closer to him and once again was thrown by how _good_ he smelled. He took her other hand in his and held it in his against his chest as they began to sway to the music.

"Is it strange to say I missed you?" he asked.

"No, I don't think so" she answered, knowing that she had missed him too.

The two of them moved slowly with the music for a short while until the song changed.

"I need a drink" she said, keeping hold of his hand and leading him back to the lounges.

Hermione sat in the VIP section and picked up the bottle, pouring herself a drink. She looked at the table and saw that Ginny had left a note.

_Hermione – sorry, had to leave. Something came up with the kids. Text me later. Have fun girl. -Gin_

"Well, there goes girl's night" Hermione said, sipping on her drink, feeling slightly disappointed.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Something with her children" Hermione said.

"Potter has kids?" he asked trying to make conversation.

"Yes, they have three" she said.

"Hmm, well, good on him" was all he said.

The pair sat for a while, neither of them speaking.

After a while, Hermione began feeling slightly awkward. She was at a loss at what to say. Before, they had had amazing banter, talking about anything and everything. One of them had always come up with something to talk about, but here, this night, Hermione could feel the awkwardness growing with every breath.

It was a strange feeling, because she had been on a lunch and dinner date and texted him for a week and a half, yet, here she sat, unable to come up with something to say.

"I suppose I'll just go home then" she said finally.

"You don't want to stay?" he asked. "With me?" he added.

Did she? Now that she was here in front of him, she felt really uneasy about the whole thing. She felt incredibly nervous and the butterflies in her stomach were making her feel queasy.

"This is so dumb, we've been texting for over a week, but I just feel strange" she said.

"You're worried people will see us together?" he asked.

"Well, I wasn't before but maybe I am now" she said.

They sat in silence, listening to the music for a while, no one saying anything.

After what felt like forever to Hermione, with her mind still no clearer on what she wanted to do, Malfoy stood.

"Well, text me when you figure all this out. I'm in, Granger. I want to be with you. You just need to figure out if you want the same" he said.

Hermione looked at him with no indication that she knew what to say.

"People will see us together. That's a given. People will talk. Your ex will talk. Your kids will have something to say. I'm always going to be me and you're always going to be you. What you need to decide is if you can get past all that and allow yourself to be happy, for the first time in forever" he said, looking at her eagerly for a response.

"I…" she said, but stopped when she realised she had no idea what to say… still.

Malfoy simply turned and walked away, exiting the club via the front door, leaving Hermione alone.

She sat sipping her drink for a while wondering how she could make this better. She pulled out her phone and scrolled through the days of texts she and Malfoy had sent back and forth. His messages had all been sweet, chatting about his day, asking about hers. He had demonstrated over and over again how caring he was, how sincere he was and how much she could trust him. There were a hundred things that she could have spoken to him about just not, a million topics of conversation that she could have chosen to discuss, but for some incredibly stupid reason, she had drawn a blank.

She scrolled to Ginny's name and typed a text to her, sipping her drink as she texted back and forth.

H- I'm an idiot

G- Why

H- He left

G- What did you do

H- Told him I was unsure.

G- Why would you do that? You like him.

H- I know but as soon as we sat down, things got weird

G- how?

H- The conversation went nowhere. It just felt awkward and forced.

G- because you've done loads of talking, you need action.

H- Ginny!

G- I'm joking, sort of. How's your stomach?

H- My stomach? Why?

G- Does it feel like its flipped upside down?

H- Yes! Only 100 times.

G- You need to get him back

H- He left, through the front door

G- text him.

H- and say what? Sorry I told you I was unsure about us, lets shag

G- exactly that

H- no way

G- just invite him over and talk then

H- You think?

G- YES

H- righto don't shout

G- don't let him get away Hermione, he seems like he's really changed and he is into you. Sorry, but you're a 36-year-old single mum. You're into him, he's into you. This is not going to come around that often.

H- But am I ready?

G- You're ready for a thorough shagging, so get going

H- I'll text you later.

Hermione rolled her eyes at her friends last text and got up from where she sat, heading for the front doors. She left the building and looked up and down the street, hoping Malfoy would be outside. He was no where to be seen. She pulled out her phone and sent a text.

H- I'm sorry, I'm an idiot. I'm going home. If you aren't completely put off, I'll be waiting up for you to come over. I think we should talk.

She hit send, then with a focus on her living room, she turned on the spot in the middle of the abandoned muggle street.

Arriving in her lounge room, she kicked off her shoes and sat down. She hoped she would hear from him soon, but she wasn't going to hold her breath. She had been a right bitch to him. He had given her every reason to feel that he had changed and no reason not to trust him. She was a fool not to follow her heart.

When several minutes had gone by with no reply from Malfoy, she headed upstairs and changed into her pyjamas.

She was part way through chastising herself further for being stupid, when the doorbell rang. She looked herself up and down in the mirror, shaking her head at how ridiculous she looked in her pjs and fluffy slippers before heading down to answer the door.

When she opened the door, Malfoy was standing just outside looking sullen.

"Please come in" she said.

He followed her inside, through the living areas into the kitchen. She poured them both a glass of wine and led him back through to the living room.

"Granger, I…" he began.

"No, please let me…" she said. He nodded indicating for her to go.

"You're completely right. I am freaked out about every little thing to do with whatever is happening here. As soon as we sat down and the conversation went dead, I panicked. My head is so messed up, I know what I want, but logically, my mind is telling me that I ought to just forget about it. I am petrified that we'll be the topic of conversation for everyone, everywhere. I panic about what my children will think. If they reject you, I'll have no choice but to do that same. They're my whole life. This is not going to be easy" she said.

"You just…" he began.

"Please… let me finish. I have had the most amazing two weeks, getting to know you and talking to you. I feel like I have landed in this strange new world where I am actually getting what I want. And its scary. My head tells me its foreign, but when you're near me, my stomach does these weird little flip things. I have no idea what that means but I would really like the opportunity to find out" she said.

There was silence, followed by a smile that graced his handsome face.

"So… You want to do this then?" she asked.

"Do what?" he asked.

"Be a couple. Make it official. See where it takes us" she said.

He moved from the armchair to the 3-seater couch where she sat, and sat right beside her.

"Yes" he said confidently, leaning in and kissing her.

He kissed her just as tenderly as she remembered from bebfore. It was soft and careful and made her feel wanted. Carefully, she pushed it further, deepening the kiss, pulling him closer to her, and her to him. The tingling sensation had returned and, combined with the butterflies that had not left her stomach since she saw him, she was feeling incredibly desperate for something more and knew that she could pursue it right now if she wanted.

Hermione allowed her senses to take over and gave in completely to her instinctual urges. She needed this, whatever this was. It felt so good to have his hands freely roaming up and down her body. He had a hand in her hair, he cupped her face, he carefully traced his fingers down her arms and back up again. Hermione was all sensation and it was incredible. She hadn't felt this way in more years than she could remember.

As she continued to kiss him, she allowed her logical brain to consider whether or not to drag him to her bedroom. Her body was screaming yes, her mind was screaming yes, everything about this moment screamed yes, but Hermione, being as she was, had to consider it first.

With her hands grasping his biceps and feeling the muscular ridges on his shoulders, she simply couldn't come up with a reason not to take this moment further. Before she could talk herself out of it, and before her bravery went away, she grabbed her wand from the side table and casually flicked off the lights. After acing her wand back down, she took the hem of his shirt and pulled it off over his head. Underneath, he was gloriously muscular and toned, with a light spattering of hair across the centre of his chest that extended down into his pants line. His body was unlike Ron's in so many ways. Ron had always been a little on the chubby side and his body was covered in curly ginger hair. Malfoy could have been an underwear model, but in a subtle way that was incredibly sexy.

**AN - PLEASE STOP READING HERE IF YOU DON'T LIKE DESCRIPTIVE SEX SCENES... SPOILER - THEY DO IT THEN THE CHAPTER ENDS.**

Hermione placed her hands flat against his chest and pushed so he was now laying sideways on the lounge. Her body followed his and she placed her knees either side of his thighs, leaning forward so she could continue kissing him.

She hadn't been this close to a man, other than Ron, ever, and although she felt sort of lost, foreign and completely out of her depth, she wanted him right now more than she wanted anything.

She supported her weight with her thighs as she used both hands to undo Malfoy's pants. As she did, he lifted her pyjama shirt and ran his hands over the smooth skin of her back. When she had undone his belt, button and fly, she sat up as Malfoy removed her pyjama shirt. Taking the opportunity, she stood briefly and slid her pants down her legs, now leaving her completely naked. She was grateful for the darkness, as she hadn't been seen this vulnerable by anyone other than Ron. This would take some getting used to but as Malfoy slid down his pants and underwear, she quietly assured herself that getting used to this would she something she could do over and over again.

She positioned one knee beside him on the lounge and eagerly resumed her position. She could feel his erection pressing into her and she knew, at this point, she would just have to move slightly and she would have the feeling she had been craving so badly lately. His hands held her breasts and he thumbed her nipple as she moaned with sensation.

Her heart was racing as she grinded her soaking wetness against him and she kissed him and his hands moved to her backside, gripping her tightly. He groaned as she moved and she took this as a sign that it was time to push it further. She raised her body up, apparently a lot, and for a moment hesitated ever so briefly as she realised he was much bigger than Ron. She felt the tip of his erection reach her entrance and so slowly, she lowered herself back down, moaning in ecstasy as his warm throbbing cock fill her completely. Not only was he much larger in length, but in width he was bigger as well. She hadn't realised that size could be such a game changer as she felt her muscles begin to clench around him already and she hadn't even began to move yet.

"Merlin Granger you're so damn sexy" he hissed thorough his clenched teeth. He was clearly enjoying this as much as she was. As she began to move she tilted her head back, completely overcome by sensation. When his mouth found her nipple, his hot breath almost made her come undone.

She had barely had a minute to take the lead when he lifted her body, standing, while never breaking the sweet contact.

"Bedroom?" he asked.

She simply pointed to the stairs and indicated upwards. He walked clumsily, still holding onto her beneath her backside with one arm and around her back with the other. She gripped his shoulders and moaned, as the unfamiliar motion of them moving in this way touched her in places she didn't know existed.

Before they made it up the stairs, he pushed her into the wall on the bottom landing and thrusted into her, causing her to call out.

"Oh my god" she cried as he held her against the wall, kissing her neck. "I'm not going to make it to the bedroom if you keep doing that" she said, breathless, as he held one breast him his hands and gently flicked her nipple with his tongue.

"That's ok, I'm gonna make you cum right here then I'll do it again on the bed" he whispered in her ear.

Just the feeling of his warm breath on her ear and his words were enough to cause Hermione's body to convulse. He reached between them with his hand and pressed his thumb against her clit, triggering her to cry out in an orgasm that would have made her fall to the floor if she had been standing on her feet.

Once she caught her breath, he regained his grip on her and carried her up the stairs into her room, which she directed him to. Breaking contact for the first time, he placed her on the bed and climbed up slowly. Hermione was still reeling from the orgasm when she felt his breath on her sensitive area. He held her legs in the air as his mouth found the mark and he began a sweet torture that resulted in a second orgasm within minutes.

If she didn't think she could go on, she was wrong as he made his way up her body, holding her tightly and slamming into her. Hermione loved it rough, and after the two mind blowing orgasms she had, she wasn't expecting a third. She was just pleased to be experiencing all this sensation. It wasn't long at all before she felt him quicken, and as he did, she felt her own body respond and before long, the two of them came undone together, collapsing side by side on Hermione's king size, four poster bed.

Hermione smiled to herself in her post orgasmic bliss for what could have been seconds, hours or minutes, she wasn't sure. She hadn't had an experience like that ever.

"I have a confession to make" he said, causing Hermione's smile to falter.

"What is it?" she asked in as serious a tne as she could muster.

"I'm actually pretty good at that" he said, smiling as he pulled her close to him.

"Oh my god, Malfoy…" she said. "Yes, you are, you're absolutely right. Thanks for warning me" she said.

"I would have done if you hadn't been so forceful and given me a chance to think" he said.

"Think? Then you might have run away" she said, nuzzling into the crook of his arm. She had always found this to be something that only happens in the movies, a post sex snuggle and banter. It certainly never happened with Ron, he was the type of man who wanted to get his rocks off and roll over and go to sleep. Hermione never really thought that any other way happened beyond the movies. But this was nice. The place on his body, between his shoulder and his chest was perfect for her head to rest on, and his hand lazily trailed lines up and down her bare back.

"Run away?" he said. "And miss out on that? I don't think so" he said.

"So that was good for you then?" she asked, her serious tone forcing its way back into the conversation.

She felt his chin dip and she looked up into his face to see him looking down at her.

"That was mind blowing. Are you kidding? That was as good as I can imagine that it can get, for our first time together" he said.

"When was the last time… for you?" she asked him.

"It was with my wife. I just… I haven't been able to… since then. Till you" he said,

"I feel honoured" she said, tracing circles on his chest.

Before long, Hermione found herself drifting off into sleep, completely sated and with a smile on her face. Her body was spent, and her mind was at ease. Her dreams that night were of all the potential futures she could see for herself. All of which included Malfoy in some way. She had not anticipated he could make her feel this way after such a short time, Merlin, they were only an official couple for mere minutes before she had him in her bed. But as she slept, her mind was continually reassuring her that it was just so right.

For the first time in more than a year and a half, she was happy.

**xx**

**AN- I always always cringe when i post these types of chapters. For some reason, i begin a story and tell myself that i'll gloss over the descriptive scenes, but i end up doing them anyway. Sorry, not sorry. **


	9. Chapter 9

**AN- Small chapter. Sorry for the delay. Been working all week and falling asleep with my laptop open every night. Will crank some out this weekend.**

**xx**

Hermione woke on Saturday morning in her bed and sat upright immediately when she realised where she was.

She hadn't really remembered falling asleep, but she knew she wasn't alone when she had. Waking up by herself now, made her feel slightly uneasy. She began to question everything that happened the night before and thought that maybe Malfoy had left her.

She got up, feeling sore in all her joints and smiled to herself at the memory of the night before. She threw some clothes over her naked body and headed downstairs to make a cup of tea before intending on taking a shower. She arrived on the bottom floor of the house and immediately realised she wasn't alone. The smell of bacon wafted through the house and she could hear cooking going on in the kitchen.

She entered the kitchen to find Malfoy, freshly showered and dressed, cooking breakfast.

"You didn't wake me" she said, peering into a pan of eggs.

He turned around and the smile on his face was one to rival that of the Cheshire cat.

"You looked pretty peaceful" he said.

"This looks great" she said.

"I hope you don't mind" he said.

"Are you kidding? This is incredible. Just be careful or you might not be allowed to go home" she said.

"Well, that's a tough one, because I have a meeting this afternoon" he said.

"Hmm, perks of being the best of the best, hey?" she said.

"Something like that. Can't say much for yourself, lady of leisure" he said, putting his arm around her and pulling her into his side,

"Well, you know" she said, shrugging.

She stood at the breakfast bar, the same place he had stood almost 2 weeks ago, and watched him move around her kitchen, expertly. She placed the plates on the counter and retrieved the knives and forks from the drawer, setting the table. She made a pot of tea and set it on the table as well as all the other essentials, as Malfoy plated up breakfast.

She sat down at her usual spot at the table and watched as he hesitated at taking a seat.

"Where should I sit?" he asked.

"What do you mean? Just sit anywhere", she said.

"I don't want to sit in anyone's spot" he said, sitting across from Hermione.

"Well, we don't really have assigned seating, not anymore. And besides, its just us, you can sit where you like" she said, placing a forkful of breakfast into her mouth. "This is incredible. Where did you learn to cook the muggle way?" she asked.

"Oh, you know, just a little thing I picked up on my travels" he said, smiling.

"Do you have any other talents I need to know about?" she asked.

"Well, except the bedroom stuff, I think you're all up to speed" he said, grinning like a schoolboy, placing bacon on his fork.

"I don't think last night could be explained. Definitely had to be experienced to be believed" she said, blushing slightly.

"Are you blushing?" he asked, still smiling like a fool.

"What? No way" she said, blushing even more.

They continued their banter throughout breakfast and for a while afterwards. It felt nice to sit and have a real conversation with someone. Ginny was her best friend and she was amazing, but to talk to someone new, go over things that have happened in their lives and experience it all for the first time made Hermione happy.

When they had finished, Malfoy stood to collect their plates.

"No way, I'm taking care of those" she said, taking the plates from his hands.

"If you insist" he said, putting his hands in the air in a sign of defeat.

She rinsed the plates and began washing them, feeling his eyes on her the whole time. He didn't speak, but he knew he was itching to say something.

When she was almost done, he came and stood directly behind her, wrapping his arms round her body and caressing her stomach underneath her shirt. As she washed the forks they ate with, one hand travelled upwards, cupping her breast, while the other travelled south and beyond the elastic of her pyjama pants.

She was panting, aching for his touch once again.

She continued her attempt to do the dishes while he kissed her neck, which proved to be difficult. His fingers were partaking in a sweet assault on her already sensitive clit and his other hand was kneading her breast in a way that made her knees weak.

After finally having enough of the torture, she turned around and leant against the edge of the bench. She stood up on her toes and angled her head to kiss him. She was now fully aware that if he didn't lean down as she leant up, she couldn't actually reach to kiss him.

He responded by kissing her, as he took the waist band of her pants, tugging them down, leaving her naked from the waist down. He gripped her underneath her backside and lifted her onto the edge of the sink, parting her legs as he did.

"I've been standing over there, thinking about doing this to you the whole time you've been at that sink" he said, gripping his erection in one hand and easing it into her. She moaned as he did, and she threw her head back with pleasure as she wrapped her legs around his body. He held onto her and began to move, thrusting into her. She was worked up from his fingers and it didn't take long before the rubbing of his body against her clit began to send her into a frenzy.

She looked into the face of the man who had made her moan and caused her incredible pleasure and she realised that she no longer saw him as the teenage boy who caused her so much grief. He was now the man who had flirted with her, bantered with her, kissed her and now known her intimately. He was the perfect man.

At this realisation and as she looked into his eyes, the warmth that she was feeling from her building orgasm, burst within her, spreading out around her body, making her cry out in pleasure. She screwed her eyes shut and saw stars as she came around him again and again, not noticing him do the same.

When she opened her eyes, Malfoy's forehead was pressed against hers and she smiled.

"Well… that was fantastic" she said, kissing him gently on the mouth as he withdrew himself from her.

"That's one word for it" he said, smiling, as he picked her pants up from the floor as she hopped down from the sink edge.

"Thanks" she said, putting her feet into the legs of her pants. "Well, I need a shower" she said, wondering why she just put her pants back on, if she was about to take them off again.

"Take your time, I need to go home and get ready for this meeting later today" he said, kissing her again. "Mmm, I doubt whether I'll ever get enough of doing that" he said, inches away from her face as he lent forward and kissed her again.

Hermione glanced at the clock and realised that the breakfast she thought she just had, was in fact lunch. It was now 1pm.

"What time is your meeting?" she asked, wondering if he would be back later on.

"Its at 2" he said.

"Oh, so you really need to go then" she said.

He simply nodded as he took her face in his hands and kissed her again.

"I'll text you" he said, stepping away.

"You better" she responded, feeling a little sad that he was leaving.

She followed him to the front door and hesitated before opening it for him. She wondered if it was too soon to add his DNA to the wards she had built around her house, allowing him to come and go, using disapparation, as he pleased. She decided against this immediately, as it wouldn't be appropriate if he just appeared when the children were home. Although, it would allow him to apparate directly into her bedroom. She quickly shook these thoughts from her mind as she opened the door for him to leave.

"Your eyebrows do this funny thing when you think too hard" he said.

"Oh" was all she said. She couldn't imagine trying to explain how she was jut thinking of him apparating directly into her bed.

"I'll see you later" he said, kissing her once again. She deepened the kiss, teasing his lips with her tongue. His tongue flicked hers in return, and in the seconds before Hermione was about to drag him back inside, he pulled away.

"I'll _definitely_ see you later" he said, stepping backwards out of the doorway and onto the veranda.

"I'll text you" she said, watching him walk down the front path and onto the street. She wondered where he would go to disapparate, but as she turned to shut the door, she heard a crack and knew he was gone.

_'I hope he looked around first' _she thought to herself, wondering if anybody might have seen him just disappear into thin air. Afterall, she lived in a muggle community where she knew people.

She wandered back into the kitchen and finished the dishes before having a shower.

She dressed and then found her phone, which had a flat battery. When she plugged it in, it lit up with notification after notification.

GINNY- So

G- What's happening

G- Hermione

G- Come on, what's happening

ROSE- Mum, dad's girlfriend is so nice. She bought us ice cream and took us to the movies.

DRACO- I miss you already

G- Let me know when you're free. I'm coming over

Hermione scrolled through the messages, smiling at the one from Malfoy. He must have sent it just as he left. She wondered if it was too soon to be feeling this way, but she couldn't help but feel giddy and silly at the thought of him.

H-G- Come over for tea. Lots to tell.

H-D- I miss you too. Enjoy your meeting. I'm having dinner with Ginny.

H-R- Hope you're both having a good time. What did you see?

R- It was some stupid movie. Really boring. Not for kids.

H-R- Oh well, at least dads trying.

R- Trying to suck face with his girlfriend. Its gross.

Hermione cringed inwardly at this. If her children were having to sit around watching Ron and _Vivienne _make out all day, then she would not be allowing this to go on. She scrolled down to Ron's name in her phone and pressed 'call'.

"Hello?"

"Ron, its me"

"Yeah I know, I have caller ID"

"So, Rose has been texting me and the kids really don't need to be seeing you making out with your girlfriend all the time" she said.

"What the hell Hermione?"

"What?"

"Are you jealous or something? You're all alone, so you use the kids to make up bullshit like this?" he said, anger radiating through the phone. Hermione was perplexed.

"Ron, I'm just telling you what Rose has told me. They don't like it so you need to cut it out" she said.

"Jeez, Hermione, I thought you were better than this" he said.

"Better than what Ron? I'm looking out or our kids' best interests, while you are looking out for your own. Now stop shoving our divorce in their faces, stop slobbering all over your girlfriend's face and pay attention to your kids" she said, hanging up the phone.

Hermione was furious at this. She scrolled to Ginny in her texts and sent her a quick message.

G- Come over now. I need to vent before I apparate to your brother's house and kill him.

Within minutes, Ginny was standing in her loungeroom, looking as mad as Hermione.

"What's he done now?" Ginny asked.

"Look at this" Hermione said, showing her the texts from Rose.

"Sucking face? Gross" she said.

"I don't have a problem with him having a girlfriend. To be honest, id rather it _not_ be the woman who broke up our marriage but that's a whole other issue. But does he really need to flaunt it in front of the kids?" Hermione ranted.

"Its Ron. He's probably doing it so that they'll tell you about it and you'll be jealous" Ginny said.

"Well, I have absolutely _zero_ reason to be jealous" she said.

"Not even a little? I mean, you did crawl into his bed a few weeks ago" Ginny said.

"Ginny, do you realise, that was over a month ago now? So much has happened since then. Besides, if anyone has reason to be jealous, its Ron" she said, smiling.

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked. "What happened last night?"

"How would _you_ put it…? I got a thorough shagging" she said, still smiling like an idiot.

"Wait, go back. Last I knew... And this was just last night, you bailed on him and then were going to invite him over to talk. Are you telling me, you… Miss Hermione Granger, shagged Draco Malfoy last night?" Ginny asked.

"And this morning" she said.

Ginny stared at her in disbelief, as Hermione told her what had happened.

"… and then when I turned my phone on, he had messaged me, literally, just after he had left and told me he missed me" she finished, about 20 minutes later.

"Oh… My… God…" Was all Ginny could say.

"That's what I was saying" she said.

"You little minx. I didn't think you had it in you" she said.

"Neither did I to be honest. Ron was always so boring, and I've only ever been with him. This was a whole different experience" Hermione said.

"I don't want to know how my brother is in bed, but it's good to see you happy" she said.

"Thanks Gin. I am, I am actually really happy" she said.

"So where are we going for dinner?" Ginny asked.

The rest of the night flew by quickly, with the two women rehashing the last couple of months over dinner and cocktails at one of their favourite restaurants. Hermione hadn't realised that it had been 2 months since she first went out. Two months since she first danced, carefree at Neville's club with Malfoy.

At 11pm, the two women headed for the exit of the restaurant, feeling happy and tipsy.

"Now don't forget, next weekend is my first game back with the Harpies, so it will be huge. Everyone's going to be there. Mum's having all the kids, yours too if you like" she said.

"I think they'll like that. How many cousins will be there?" Hermione asked, wondering how the Burrow would contain that many children.

"There's 12 now" Ginny said, rolling her eyes. "George is still going though, so who knows how many there will end up being" she said.

"Your mum is a brave woman" Hermione said.

"Well, Victoire is 16 now and Teddy will be there to help… Oh, did I tell you? They're dating!" Ginny said, as they walked down the stone pathway to a place where they could apparate home.

"Teddy and Vic? No" Hermione said, shocked.

"Yep" Ginny said, nodding her head, as they approached an ally.


	10. Chapter 10

**Thanks for the reviews. Glad you're all enjoying it so far. Not long to go now i think. Its only planned for the next three or four chapters so hopefully my brain kicks into gear. Its really cold here today and my fingers are hurting, but theres so much to this story that i need to get out NOW, so i'm going to try.**

**8-8**

Hermione laid in her bed that night, with her phone beside her head.

She was yet to hear from Malfoy, and she was concerned. Despite the strongest logical part of her brain screaming at her that she needed to give it some time, she wanted to be around him now, more than ever. Even if he just laid with her and watched this predictable movie she had put on. She had become obsessed. Although, she knew he led a busy life and had meetings and partners and all kinds of things to do she was hoping that she might see him again soon.

She was hardly paying attention to the movie she had put on an hour before. She'd seen it before, so she wasn't missing much. Some girl wanted a no strings attached relationship with some guy and low and behold, they fall in love. She thought about the concept of love and wondered if that's what was happening to her. Was she falling in love? There was certainly a hell of a lot of lust between them, but love? If she thought about it, she couldn't really pinpoint a time where she realised she had fallen in love with Ron all those years ago, she just sort of grew more fond of him over time. Was _that _love? Fondness? Or was there more? She certainly felt butterflies in her stomach when Malfoy was around, but she barely knew him. What could be considered a reasonable timeframe to go from enemies to strangers to acquaintances to love? The couple in the movie had to be apart before they realised they were in love. They had to suffer before they could be happy. Was Hermione on the pathway towards suffering? And if she was, could she avoid it now that she knew it was possible? _Or,_ had she already suffered at the hands of Ron's infidelity and _now_ was her time to be happy? All of these things ran through her mind while as she stared blankly at the screen.

She fell asleep before the movie had finished and woke up at 2am with the TV displaying a blue screen. She reached for the remote and glanced quickly at her phone. There was a message from Malfoy, sent at 1230am.

D- My meeting ran late and there was a lot to do afterwards. I really wanted to come and see you, but you're probably asleep. Goodnight x

She read the message again and was relieved to see that he hadn't abandoned her. Of course he was busy with work. '_On a Saturday'_ she thought.

She switched the TV off and typed a message back.

H-D- Hey stranger, nice to hear from you. Fell asleep watching a movie and thinking about you. Will text you in the morning.

She hit send, before placing her phone on the bedside table and closing her eyes.

She dreamt that she was in an airport and there were people coming and going in every direction. She stood in the middle, looking around at the faces of those who were rushing about their lives. The faces were blank and all the same. She stood up on her toes so she could look for a sign of someone she might know. There was no one. She turned to move in a direction, any direction, but as she tried to walk, she went nowhere, as though she was going the wrong way on a travellator. She wasn't getting anywhere. She was about to start to panic, when she saw a familiar face walk towards her – it was Malfoy. She reached for him and he took her hand, pulling her towards him. As he did, the crowd began to disappear, and she could move. She was heading for the exit of the airport but when she got to the doors, there stood the Hogwarts Express, releasing steam out in all directions and blowing its horn.

She woke with a start and looked at the clock. It was 7am and Hermione decided that she ought to get up and make a start on the day ahead. She thought about the dream while she ate breakfast and couldn't make sense of it. She decided to put it to the back of her mind, and while sitting on her back deck in the sun drinking coffee, she had forgotten all about it.

She busied herself with house work for the day, cleaning out old boxes of things she had forgotten all about. It was lunch time before she looked at her phone and saw that Malfoy hadn't text her yet. She sat on the lounge with a sandwich and a coffee and typed a text to him.

H-D- Happy Sunday, hope you're out enjoying the sunshine.

She didn't expect a reply so soon, however her phone buzzed immediately.

D- Its lunch time, don't tell me you've been asleep all day?

H- No way I've been up since 7, getting things done.

D- Me too. Been waiting for a beautiful woman to distract me from this paperwork.

Hermione scrolled up and read the text she sent him last night and it was then that she realised she had screwed up. She told him she'd text him in the morning.

H- I was supposed to text you when I woke. Sorry.

D- That's ok. I've been distracted too.

H- Is everything ok?

D- Yeah just work. All boring things really.

H- Anything I can help with?

D- You help just by existing

Hermione's heart skipped a beat at this.

H- That's incredibly sweet.

D- Well, actually, you're probably the reason it's taking me so long to get this done. I haven't stopped thinking about you since I left your house yesterday.

H- Me too.

D- I'm glad.

H- I want to see you.

D- I need a break from this anyway. Give me 5 minutes.

H- Ok.

Hermione jumped up and quickly ran to the bathroom, brushing her teeth and running her fingers through her hair. She applied some mascara and quickly changed her clothes.

By the time she got back downstairs, the doorbell rang, and she opened the door to see Malfoy standing there, looking better than ever. Her heart sped up when she saw him and she grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him towards her, into the house, kissing him roughly.

He responded by grabbing her backside with one hand and pressing her against the door frame. Deepening the kiss, Hermione slammed the front door and pulled Malfoy's shirt off over his head.

She hadn't intended on it, but somehow, half an hour later, Hermione and Malfoy were laying on her bed, catching their breath after some mind-blowing fun.

"Hi" she said.

"Hey" he said, smiling.

"How's your day?" she asked.

"It just got a lot better" he said

"Mine too" she said.

Eventually, they got up and made their way to the kitchen, where Hermione handed him a bottle of butterbeer.

They sat at the kitchen bench and chatted about their day. Hermione hardly felt that her day was worth talking about but somehow, Malfoy seemed interested in knowing about the boring things she had done.

He told her about his meeting and Hermione finally understood why he was so snowed under. He was facing some backlash regarding some muggle born witches and wizards in the US and they wanted him to return there and deal with it. He refused, and now he had to attempt to communicate with his US colleagues to make it right.

Hermione wondered if he was staying just for her benefit, in which case she would feel both extremely guilty and flattered at the same time.

There was something nagging at the back of her mind the whole time he was there and that was her children. They were due back within the hour, and she had no idea what to do. She wanted him to stay, to meet them and for them to know him and like him as much as she did, but at the same time she knew better of it. She knew that she needed to keep these two lives of hers separate, at least for a little while.

"So there's something that I think we need to talk about" she said.

"The elephant in the room?" he asked.

"Something like that" she said.

"Please, enlighten me" he said.

"This is serious. I am really struggling to think about how to deal with this…. issue" she said.

"So, tell me. I can help you" he said.

"My kids are due back… Like, within the hour" she said.

"Oh" he said.

"Oh indeed" she responded.

"Where do you find yourself sitting with that?" he asked.

"Well, I'd love for you to meet them… someday" she said.

"But not now?" he asked.

"Not now" she said.

"I get it" he said.

"Its not about you. At all. I just want to keep my two lives separate, for now" she said.

"So… till you're comfortable, I'll just come around when they're at Weasleys and then when they're at school, we'll have the place to ourselves. Simple. Next problem?" he said.

"Well, that's the thing. I have been offered a position at Hogwarts" she said, blurting out the one thing she had been fearing to say since they first went on a date. "Muggle studies" she added. He didn't say anything, just opened his mouth and closed it again. "And I accepted it. I start in a few weeks" she said, confirming what he appeared to be wondering.

"That's good. You're going to be working at the school, I'm happy for you" he said.

"So… that means…" she began.

"No house to ourselves" he said.

"No anywhere to ourselves" she said. "I just don't know where to take things from there" she said, saying the thing that she had been worrying about all this time. "How can we legitimately make something work, when I won't be here?" she asked.

He seemed to think about this for several moments, she guessed he was looking for the positives that she was yet to see.

"So, I guess you should go back to the US sooner, rather than later, before things go too far" she added, sadly.

"Too far? What is that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"Well, before either of us start having serious feelings" she said.

As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she regretted them. This was not a conversation she was ready to have.

"I… You're right. I suppose we better call it quits now. Its not like there's weekends or afternoons or night times or places we can meet. The room of requirement, the teacher's quarters and days off… none of those things exist either" he said, smirking.

She was glad he didn't mention the 'feelings' thing she said, but she sensed he wanted to.

"I think you should just stop worrying about what might happen and think about what is happening, now" he said, leaning forward and kissing her.

"So you really think we could make this work then?" she asked him.

"I think we can, yes" he said, leaning forward and kissing her.

Not too long afterwards, Hermione had bid Malfoy farewell, and watched him walk down the street. She hoped he was right, and they could make things work somehow. She wanted so badly to do right by McGonagall, but she felt that she owed it to herself to let herself be happy. The more she thought about it, the more she realised he was right. They would have weekends and afternoons and night times and all kinds of places they could sneak off. In fact, the idea of sneaking around made it all the more exciting for Hermione.

Shortly after Malfoy left, the children were dropped off by Ron and for the rest of the night, Hermione chatted with them about their week, not asking too much but allowing them to lead the conversation anywhere they desired. They hadn't offered too much about Vivienne, but Hermione sensed they liked her. She supposed that if they liked her, at least even a little, then she would keep her thoughts to herself.

*8*8*

Much like every week with her children, the time flew. They had spent the week on outings and even took a trip to the country for a few days. There was less than a month till they would all go off to Hogwarts and even though she knew she would still see them everyday, she needed to spend as much time with them as she could. Once they started school, she was as much their professor as she was their mum. This thought concerned Hermione, as she hadn't known anybody personally, who had children at Hogwarts at the same time as they taught. If McGonagall thought she could do it the Hermione had absolute faith that she was correct.

By the time Saturday came back around, Hermione was anxiously awaiting contact from Molly Weasley to determine what time to floo her children to The Burrow so everyone could go to the game.

Hermione had hoped to meet Malfoy at the game, their first outing, since becoming a couple. It would be the thing that made them or broke them, as the public would now see them together and they would surely face scrutiny. She wasn't sure he'd come as she was still waiting on confirmation that he would be finished work.

Hermione and her children sat in the living room by the fireplace, waiting for the sign that they could go. At exactly 2pm, the fireplace lit up a brilliant orange, for just a second, which was the sign for them to come. Hermione adjusted her outfit in the mirror. It wasn't too flashy but not too casual either. She felt comfortable enough for the game and glam enough to go out afterwards.

The three of them stepped into the fireplace and Hermione said "The Burrow" as she dropped the floo powder to the floor.

She held onto her children as they whizzed past many different grates. They saw flashes of other peoples living rooms and heard snippets of conversations as they passed. Within seconds, the Burrow's kitchen came into view and the motion stopped.

Hermione, Rose and Hugo stepped out of the fireplace at the Burrow and into the kitchen. Immediately, Hermione was welcomed by the Weasleys, the older, the younger and the even younger.

Ginny was no where to be seen, apparently getting ready in her old room.

After she said hello to everyone, the Weasley siblings and the children, Hermione made her way up the stairs to find Ginny. She pushed open the door to Ginny's old room on the floor above the living area and found Ginny sitting on her old bed.

"This is like some kind of time warp" she said.

"Hmm?" Ginny asked.

"Your room. It's exactly how it was the first time I ever walked into it" Hermione said, looking at the pink walls.

"oh. Right" she said.

"Are you alright?" Hermione asked.

"Ha, yep. Sure am" Ginny said, sounding a little hysterical.

"You've played tonnes of games Gin, you'll be fine" Hermione said.

"Tonnes of games in my twenties. I'm thirty-three Hermione. What the hell am I doing?" Ginny cried out.

"You've trained so hard for this, you're a better player than anybody I know Gin. You've got this" Hermione said, sitting on the bed beside her.

"I should have stuck with reporting, not playing" she sighed.

"Alright, lets call them up and tell them you're not going to play. They'll forfeit and you can go back to writing" Hermione said, shrugging.

Ginny just looked at her and sighed.

"I'm serious, I'll call them up right now" Hermione said, smiling as she saw Ginny's face change.

"Godric Hermione" Ginny said.

"Look, just play one game, the one game you've trained for and see how you feel. If you fail miserably, then write an article about how you came back for a one game only thing and expected to do much worse… Or whatever. But I know you. You're the best quidditch player I've ever seen. You've played internationally, you've played locally. Ginny, you can do this, I'm certain of it" Hermione said, pacing the room, looking at the same posters she stared at during the summers she spent at The Burrow.

"Why do you always have to be…." Ginny began.

"Right? It's a gift" she said, smiling widely at her friend.

"I guess I ought to get ready then" Ginny said.

"I think so" Hermione said, leaving the room.

She made to go downstairs, but as soon as she closed the door behind her, she felt an unconscious pull towards the higher levels of the house.

She climbed the stairs and on the next landing, found the door to George's old room open. She peeked inside and saw a sleeping toddler, Fred, laying on the bed. She smiled to herself as the red haired boy rolled over in his sleep. She missed her kids being that age, but wouldn't stand going through the early years of parenthood, even if she could. She suddenly realised that this was something she was yet to discuss with Malfoy. Was he looking at the prospect of having children? They had been intimate on a few occasions now and never used any protective enchantments or muggle condoms. Surely he'd be wondering about pregnancy concerns? She climbed the stairs and remembered the first time she had to have that discussion with Ron as she found herself arrive on the attic level, where his room once was.

_"Ron, there's something we need to discuss" Hermione said, jut days after they had arrived back from Australia.  
__"Ok" he said, not looking away from the chess board that was in front of him.  
__"Can you please just look at me while we have this conversation, its really important" she said. He sighed as he roughly pushed away the board, sending pieces flying.  
__"You've been pretty closed off since we've been back, so let's have it. You're breaking up with me, aren't you? Going to live with your parents in Australia?" he asked.  
__"No Ron, Merlin, I'm trying to tell you I think I'm pregnant you ass" she said, louder than she ought to have.  
__Ron's mouth opened and closed like a fish that was gasping for air. He said nothing, just stayed in that stunned state.  
__"I uh, I have to go… somewhere" he said, jumping up and leaving her sitting there all alone._

"I should have known then" she said to herself, quietly, as she glanced around the tiny room.

"Known what?" came the voice of Ron behind her.

She spun around and almost lost her balance, steadying herself against the door frame.

"Nothing" she said as she walked past him and made her way down the stairs.

"Hermione, wait" he called.

"Sorry, I have things to be doing" she said.

"Our children are down there, cant we jut be civil, for them?" he asked.

"I am being civil, Ron" she said, standing on the landing of the third floor.

"Well, I need to warn you…" he began.

"Warn me about what?" she asked.

Before Ron could speak, Hermione had her answer.

"Ron? Ronnie? Where are you?" came the shrill voice of a blonde 20 something heading towards them up the stairs.

"You're not serious? Introducing her to your family, are you?" Hermione asked.

"I did that already. The other day. She's coming to the game" Ron said.

"Right" Hermione said, as the bimbo came into view on the stairs.

"Oh, there you are Ronnie, I couldn't find you…." She stopped as she saw Hermione and Ron standing on the stairs together. "What's this?" she asked, looking seriously concerned.

"No need to be worried sweetheart, I was just reminiscing about the time I told Ron I thought I was pregnant and he ran out on me. You can keep him" Hermione said, regretting the words as they fell from her lips. Hermione had never been this petty. Not even during the divorce, but then again, this _woman_ hadn't been thrown in her face before either.

Hermione pulled out her phone as she trudged down the stairs, typing a text to Malfoy as she went.

H-D- Hey handsome wizard, are you coming to the game?

She hoped he would. It had been up in the air as he was flat out with a proposal for work and didn't think he would make it.

He replied almost immediately, as she found herself on the bottom floor of the house, surrounded by red haired Weasleys, unnoticed.

Her phone flashed '_out of service'_ and switched off, a common side effect of being around too many magical beings.

She slipped out the door and walked a short way down the path before her phone lit up and buzzed with a text notification.

D-H- I wouldn't miss it. I'll meet you at the gates.

Hermione's heart fluttered, as she pocketed her phone and headed for the door.

Inside, the conversation had turned to Ginny's previous amazing game efforts.

"I remember when Ginny bounced the quaffle off one goal post and kicked it into the other with her broken foot. Now that was a goal" George said.

"How about that time she fell off her broom and broke both her arms?" Charlie asked, laughing.

"I was pulled off, thank you" Ginny said from the bottom of the stairs.

"No, no, I have the best one… What about when Harry marched onto the field and proposed to her after the team won the National cup?" Percy asked.

"Don't remind me, that was mortifying, imagine if she had said no?" Harry asked.

"It was sweet…" Hermione began, feeling all gushy about her own new romance.

"Oh, I remember that…" came the voice of the 20 something bimbo over the crowd. "I heard about it from the 7th years at Hogwarts when I was a kid. It was the talk of the school for the whole day" she said.

The whole room went silent as they all took in the fact that, not only was Ron's new home-wrecking girlfriend there, but she was so young, that when they were all in their 20s, she was in her teens.

"Wow…" said Hermione suddenly. "I bet the news stopped you from playing with your dolls for the entire week!" Hermione said, cattiness clear in her voice.

"Hermione…" Ron began.

She turned and looked to him and raised an eyebrow.

"Yes Ron?" she answered. Everyone was watching the three of them intently.

"Jealousy does not look good on you" he said, as he put his arm around his pouting girlfriend.

Hermione just laughed at this and said, "Not even a hint of jealousy here…. Just a whole load of…." Was all she could get out before Mrs Weasley took her by the hand and removed her from the room.

Once she was in the kitchen, she thanked Molly and stood by the bench.

"I love you Hermione my girl and I know that what my Ron did was unforgivable. Bringing her here was not ideal, but you need to come to terms with this" she said.

"I have. Truly, I am happy for Ron. I wish them nothing but the best of luck in their future. I have moved on also, in fact. I just let my mouth speak before my brain has kicked in sometimes. I apologise for being that childish" she said.

"Its ok my dear, I just thought it was best to remove you before it took you to a place you'd regret later" the older witch said.

"Hahaha that was hilarious" Ginny said as she came bounding through the door. Definitely one of my top five moments from the living room" she said.

"Well, I'm not proud of myself. I sunk to a level that is far beneath me" Hermione said.

"Just wait till everyone sees who you bring to the game. I almost wish I could be there to see" she said.

"Almost?" Hermione asked, remembering her hesitation less than an hour ago in her bedroom.

"Yeah, I know now that I was just being silly" Ginny said.

"So you're keen to play today?" Hermione asked.

"Hundred per cent" she said.

**x-x**

**AN - I am now up the the place where i am writing and uploading as i go. I am not ahead in chapters anymore, so they wont be frequent like they were in the beginning. Sorry not sorry i guess. I hope to get another chapter out today, so keep your eyes open. Hope you enjoy the game int he next chapter. Not sure how detailed to make it yet, we'll see, i guess. **


	11. Chapter 11

**Please forgive spelling and grammar errors. Smashed this out before the work week begins. Have a good week and i will attempt to update when i can. **

**xx**

Hermione chatted with Harry, as they walked with the large group of Weasleys heading for the stadium.

"So is he coming?" Harry asked.

"He?" she questioned.

Malfoy" he said.

"Oh, yes, he should be meeting me at the gates" Hermione said.

"And Ron knows about this?" Harry asked.

"Ron knows nothing" Hermione said.

"It's going to be a shock to him. They were enemies in school" Harry said,

"So were you, and so was I. And to be fair, it was a shock for me seeing Ron all but swallowing that girl who broke up our marriage" Hermione said.

"Ok, that fair. So how are you going to tell him?" Harry asked.

"I'm not" Hermione said, shrugging.

The group approached the gates and Hermione let the crowd enter before she purposely lagged behind. She knew Malfoy was meeting her here shortly, and she wanted to wait for him. She moved to the side of the entry way to get out of the way and lost sight of her group. She wasn't too concerned, as she had her ticket anyway and would fid her seat once she got inside.

It wasn't even a minute till she saw the blonde-haired man walking towards her. He looked amazing, as always and as soon as he neared her, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him.

"Hello to you too" he said.

"Uh, its been so long" she said.

Before letting go, he pulled her closer against him and kissed her again, more passionately than just moments ago.

"hmm, I missed that" he said.

"Come on, I have seats" she said.

"Wait" he said. "This is a big deal. If everyone is here, this means everyone's going to see us together. There's no going back now" he said.

"You afraid?" she asked, smiling. She wanted everyone to see them together.

"No, I thought you may be, but clearly you aren't" he said, taking her by the hand and walking through the gates with her.

In the thoroughfare between the gates and the stands, huge posters were erected with Ginny's face on them, emblazoned with the words 'COMEBACK QUEEN'. Ginny was certainly adored.

Hermione led Malfoy through the stands and towards where she knew their seat to be. They had a VIP box high up and it would take them a long time to get there. She knew that it would be all the better to see the game, as all the good boxes were, but it still made it harder to get there.

"If I knew I wouldn't land on someone, I'd apparate us there" she said.

"Somehow I feel like you've done that before?" Malfoy asked.

"Well, when we were younger, and Ginny used to play all the time. We were running late, me and Ron, and he decided to apparate us there. Can't say it was a pretty sight" Hermione said.

Before long, the box was in sight and Hermione breathed in a deep breath before entering. The room was full of people, mostly red heads and no one really noticed the two slip in. There was a buffet table to one side where Ron was situated and the rest were huddled by the railing at the front, pointing out different things in the crowd and the field.

The box was fairly large, so it took a while before anybody noticed the couple. Harry came and shook hands with Malfoy, something Hermione was grateful for. She had spoken to him about how much Malfoy had changed and it was heartening to see Harry be so accepting. The two exchanged words about the game, spoke about their respective jobs and chatted about the stands.

"The arena is actually pretty new, Ginny hasn't played on it since it was burnt to the ground 10 years ago, so its all new for us" he said.

At this, Hermione glanced at the buffet table and saw that Ron had moved off from there. She walked away from the conversation, leaving Malfoy and Harry to talk men's business and went over to the table. The food smelt and looked delicious. Hermione took two plates and loaded them up with as much as she could place. She grabbed two bottles of mead with her pinky fingers before heading back to where Malfoy stood with Harry and now George and an irritated looking Ron.

"You shouldn't be here, that's what, _Malfoy_" Ron was yelling. "Invited? By who?" was all Hermione could hear, over the buzz of the box. Clearly, Ron was shouting and Malfoy was talking calmly.

"What the hell is going on here?" Hermione asked, setting the plates and bottles down on the table.

"This _death eater _has wormed his way into our VIP box. Thinking that this is like the world cup all over again. Where's your hooded accomplices, huh? No muggle family to torture today. No house elf to do your dirty work this time" Ron was going off.

"Ron, you idiot, he's with _me_" Hermione shouted at him standing in between the two.

Ron looked dumbfounded.

"What?" was all he could say.

"I invited him here, and if you have a problem with that, I suggest you leave" Hermione said.

"This is Ginny's box. I'm her brother. If anybody should leave its him" Ron said.

"Ginny knows he's here mate" came the calm voice of Harry.

The faces of those around them were all set to stunned. Now was the time where they would all find out that Hermione Granger was dating Draco Malfoy.

Ron was still silent. He had no idea what to say, so he continued to open and close his mouth, like that day in his room when she had told him she may have been pregnant. He had been silent for days before she had told him it was a false alarm. That she had simply been a few days late on her cycle and that was that.

At this, Ron turned and walked back to the other side of the box, where Vivienne was waiting for him, fear etched on her face. Hermione briefly saw her stroke his bright red face before turning away in disgust.

"Well, that went well" she said to Malfoy, grabbing the bottle off the table and handing it to him.

"Here's to drama before the whistle" he said, holding up his bottle.

She clinked it with her own before saying "to drama" and grinning.

As the teams came whizzing out of the changing rooms, the box went quiet. There was still a buzz of something Hermione couldn't place as she stood beside Malfoy.

"And with her comeback, after 13 years off the pitch, Ginny Potter!" came the booming voice of the commentator.

"Is that…?" Hermione started.

"Lee Jordan" George said, confirming what Hermione was yet to ask.

"Just like old times, hey?" George said.

"Hmm, not really" Hermione said, looking around. Things were definitely different.

The crowd went wild when Ginny shot out and did a lap of the grounds. She waved to everyone and came especially close to the box where they all watched from. Hermione cheered and called out as she flew past along with the rest of the box and everything was forgotten.

Within minutes, the game was underway.

At first, the match was untense. The Holyhead Harpies and the Chudley Canons played well for the first half hour. Hermione was enthralled with the game and felt slightly bad that her attention wasn't on Malfoy. However, every time she turned, he was saying "did you see that" or "What a save" to one of the other spectators in the box.

Hermione loved how easily he was settling in with the group. Except, of course, Ron, who would never accept Malfoy, no matter what. Especially now he was with her.

It was now two hours into the game and the score was 180 to 70. The Harpies were in the lead, and Ron was growing more and more frustrated. His favourite team was losing but his sisters team was winning. His blonde bimbo kept trying to comfort her, but he kept shrugging her off in a manner Hermione knew all too well. In this moment, she sort of felt for her, knowing what her fate would be. Ron was not a nice person to have as a partner and she only hoped, for her kids' sake, that either he would get better or she would leave him. Then again, Hermione thought, it took her 18 years to figure it out and this Vivienne was not smart.

Hermione was brought out of her thoughts by the raging cheers of the crowd. Ginny had scored another goal, but the seeker was also on the path of the snitch.

"And the Harpies seeker closes in on the snitch while the Canons seeker is still looking at the other end of the field. Isn't this a sad day for quidditch. The game is about to be over and its almost as if they haven't even played… She reaches out, opens her hand, and YES! The Holyhead Harpies win the game!"

Everyone in the box jumped up and down and were yelling and calling out. Hermione turned to Malfoy who was smiling larger than life.

"I love you" she blurted out, so only he could hear.

"I love you too" he said, as he wrapped his arms around her and brought her close for a kiss. Hermione forgot where she was in that moment. She had realised almost with out thinking, that she did love him. She had loved him since their first date, she felt. Despite all her concerns, worries, insecurities at dating this man, she did love him. And he loved her back. It felt so right, he bantered with everyone she knew, everyone she considered family, and it made her love him even more.

The way her heart fluttered when she saw him or when she even thought of him. She now realised that she was silly for not realising before.

When the kiss was coming to an end and the noise around them began to return, Hermione was suddenly aware of another thing in the room. Ron's voice.

"What the hell is this?" he bellowed, swaying from drinking too much.

"Look…" began Malfoy, when Hermine went to speak. "I know you have history with Hermione…" he continued, her name sounding like heaven coming from his lips… "and we all have history from high school, but it's over. She is with me and you're going to have to accept it" he said, placing an arm around Hermione.

Ron didn't speak but stepped forward and tried to swing a punch in Malfoy's direction.

Before he could connect, Harry grabbed him and pulled him away.

"She's too good for you, death eater. She belongs to me. You don't know what you're doing Hermione. You'll see" Ron called, as Harry pulled him out of the box, leaving a devastated Vivienne behind.

"uh, how much did he have to drink?" came the amused voice of Charlie Weasley.

"Does he not remember he's divorced?" Percy asked.

Hermione just watched the banter between the brothers.

"Did he forget he came here with his girlfriend?" George said, looking over at Vivienne.

"Don't worry mate, you're alright by us" said Bill, always the voice of the Weasleys collective.

"As long as you're ok by our Hermione, you're ok by us" said George.

"Thanks" said Malfoy.

"That means a lot" Hermione said, holding onto Malfoy's hand.

With the drama all but over, the crowds began to disperse, and the stands started to empty. Vivienne left the box all alone and disappeared through the crowds as Hermione and Malfoy left also.

"Meet at Nevilles?" George called over the heads of the crowd who were rushing past.

"Sounds like a plan" Charlie called back, putting his arm around Vivienne who had been standing outside the door. "Come on Viv, I'll look after ya. Ron'll be along once Harry smacks some sense into him" he said.

Vivienne gasped at this and Charlie quickly reassured her that Harry was not actually going to smack him, he was just going to sober him up a little and give him a stern talking to.

Before long, the group reached the small field where they had apparated to, and while thinking about the small alley beside the club, one by one, they disapparated.

8-8-8

The night kicked off without a hitch. Neville had been at the game in his own box with a group of people they all knew and had set the club up in the dark green and gold colours of the Harpies before everyone had arrived. The VIP section awaited the group and was expanded to seat them all. Hermione didn't know how it could have been possible for him to pull all this off, but he had.

Hermione arrived with Malfoy and found the VIP section already brimming with people.

They found Dean, Seamus, the Patil twins, Luna, Susan Bones, Michael Corner and Hannah Abbott already seated and each with a drink in their hands. There were partners of those Hermione knew, and people she assumed had worked with Ginny or Harry or met them somewhere lurking around the edges of the roped off area. She saw no sign of Ron, Harry or Ron's bimbo and she secretly hoped Ron and Bimbo Barbie had gone home.

It wasn't long till Ginny arrived with the rest of the team, freshly showered and changed, hand in hand with Harry and closely followed by Ron and Vivienne. Hermione's hopes were dashed. She handed her best friend a drink and hugged her tightly, congratulating her before she was overcome by others.

When people started spotting Hermione hand in hand with Malfoy, they began asking questions, most of which Hermione dodged, initially. It became irritating, so, after taking a long swig from her drink, she called the attention of the group.

"Attention everyone… Attention" she called. The group slowly quietened down. "I would like to raise a glass to the Holyhead Harpies and more specifically, our favourite Chaser, Ginny! It wasn't easy for her to get back out there and tonight shows that life isn't over in your 30s, it really only just begins. So, cheers to Ginny!" she said, encouraging a round of "cheers'" from the group. "Oh, and one more thing, I am dating Draco Malfoy. Yes, we are happy, no he hasn't hexed me, yes he's changed in the 17 years since high school and no I don't care that Ron is here with the woman who destroyed our marriage, because if she hadn't come along then I wouldn't be as happy as I am now. So, cheers to me, cheers to Draco and cheers to homewrecking bimbos" Hermione called, eliciting half-hearted cheers' from the crowd.

She stepped down off the chair she had been standing on to deliver her speech and found herself in Malfoy's arms. His lips were on hers in an instant and she kissed him back just as eagerly.

"Dance with me" he asked, taking her by the hand and leading her away from the group. He didn't have to ask her twice.

They had the dancefloor mostly to themselves at first, as everyone else was busy catching up. Hermione had no desire to deal with the fake friends who she hadn't heard from or seen in 15 years.

After several songs and as the dancefloor had filled with people dancing, Hermione had to use the bathroom. She handed her drink to Malfoy and wandered slowly towards the ladies room, where there was a queue.

Standing in line, she looked up at the ceiling and noticed how intricate the tiles were. She hadn't noticed them before. The floor was much the same. It wasn't till someone tapped her on the shoulder that she realised she had been standing one person away from Vivienne.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"I just want to talk. We're both here in this line, we might as well make the most of it" Vivienne said.

Hermione just looked at her and motioned for her to begin.

"Hermione, you may think I'm some dumb blonde bimbo, but I want you to know… I didn't ever intend on stealing Ron from you. You have to believe me" she said.

"Why would di believe anything you have to say?" she asked.

"Because I have no reason to lie. Ron has treated me horribly tonight and I think he's been cheating on me. I just want to set the record straight" she said.

"Hurts doesn't it?" Hermione asked, a smug look on her face.

"I didn't know he was married. Well, he said you two were separated" she said.

"Typical" Hermione said.

"He told me that he was miserable at home and that he needed someone who would look after him. I didn't know that you were a decent person. I would never had even looked his way Hermione, you have to believe me" she said.

"I don't know what to believe. Why would you, a young girl, want to mess around with a man in his 30s who has a wife, regardless if it's a current or an ex, and kids? It makes no sense" Hermione said.

"I know it doesn't, well, not to you I suppose, but to me, it makes complete sense. I tried dating guys my own age and they only wanted me for one thing. Ron was different. He saw me for who I was" Vivienne said.

"I think you're very mistaken. You don't know Ron like I do. He is purely into you for what you can do for his image. It was all physical at first, trust me. I've known him since we were 11. That's before you were even born" Hermione said.

Vivienne had tears in her eyes and for the first time, Hermione sort of felt sorry for her. She had come to the front of the like and disappeared into a cubicle just before Hermione had. Hermione wasn't sure why or how she had become stuck in this conversation with the woman she hated more than anybody else, but it felt sort of good to get these things off her chest. Had she truly not known that she and Ron were still married?

She finished up and left the cubical, finding Vivienne waiting for her at the hand basin.

"Just tell me one thing… Did you leave underwear in our bathroom?" Vivienne asked.

At first, Hermione was confused. She thought back to Ron's house and remembered why she had been there. She cringed inwardly at the memory and remembered that she had left her underwear there on that night. She was now struck with the decision to tell the truth, allow this woman to know the truth, or lie and let her continue with her life, not knowing that he had cheated on her.

She knew what she needed to do. Woman to woman.

"They were mine" she said, triggering tears to stream down the perfect face of the young, almost girl, standing in front of her.

It was this point when Hermione suddenly realised that this was just a young girl who had fallen into a trap.

"Why?" she asked, sobbing now.

"I… I didn't know. I went to the house, drunk and uninvited. I was lonely and hadn't been with anybody since Ron. I just needed… I don't know, I needed someone to be close to me… for a bit. He didn't stop me. I thought we were going to rekindle things, but then he told me that you lived there, and I was mortified. You were the whole reason my life had been turned upside down. You ruined everything. We had kids, we had a house, a life. We had it all and then you came along and then we had nothing. I had a year and a half of tremendous pain and sadness, trying to fix a marriage that could never be fixed. While I was trying, Ron was still meeting you in hotels" Hermione blurted out.

"I didn't chase Ron. He came after me. He pursued me for a long time before I gave in. It wasn't like I came along and suddenly he was a cheater. He was looking for someone, for something. He told me al these things, now I suppose they're lies, but he told me how unhappy he had been, that he was trapped in a marriage that he didn't enjoy with a wife he didn't love. He told me that he was already separated but the divorce was messy, so he had to stay with you in the home. I should have known, but it wasn't my fault entirely. I thought he was single. I would never have done that to somebody else. Ever" she said.

"Surely you would have known from George at the shop?" Hermione asked.

"No, not really. George hired me to come on when he left to spend time with his family, if you remember, so he didn't know. No one did. Ron thought it would be more fun that way. I can see now how ridiculous it all was. I only found out recently that he was still married to you while we were together and it was hard, but I forgave him. I have been so eager to see you to ask you about the underwear though, because now I know the truth. Ron is a liar" she said.

"What did he say about them?" Hermione asked.

"He said that they were mine. That he bought them for me and hid them there" Vivienne said.

"Ass" Hermione muttered.

"He is" Vivienne said with a small smile.

"Look, I'm sorry for how horrible I've been to you. You must understand though, its been really difficult for me. It was my family, my life. I had no idea Ron was cheating on me till I knew the truth. It has only taken me till now to realise how horrible our marriage actually was, but even so, it should have been up to me to end it" Hermione said.

"I forgive you. And I'm sorry too" Vivienne said.

"So what are you going to do now?" Hermione asked.

"Well, I suppose I ought to break up with him. You should have heard the things he was saying after Harry dragged him out of the VIP box. It was like I never existed. He said that you belonged to him and that that other man had no business being with you. I don't know what happened between the three of you in the past, but Ron sure seemed upset about it" she said.

"That must have felt pretty horrible, hearing him say those things about me" Hermione said.

"It was the worst" she said.

"So what will you do? With your life?" Hermione asked.

"Well, I'm only 22. I have loads of time to figure it all out. I'll take my half of the house and leave" she said, shrugging.

"Your half?" Hermione asked.

"I put in half the cash for that house. From an inheritance I received. Ron blew most of the divorce settlement on that bloody car and other stupid things. Then I stupidly put in hundreds of thousands of muggle pounds to get the house" she said.

"So… it sounds rough but kick him out. His parents can have him back" Hermione said. From what I saw, what I can remember, that house looked nothing like Ron's house. That place is all you, and you deserve it. You've been through a lot" Hermione said, suddenly realising she had completely changed her tune about this girl in just the time that they spent in this bathroom.

"You think?" she asked.

"I know. Come on, lets go dance" Hermione said.

**Ohhhhh... Ron's in trouble!**


	12. Chapter 12

Short chapter to reply to reviews... Next will be up immediately. Just don't want to take too much away from the chapter.

3

**Myfunkzoo** – Hermione is quite sassy which I love. She has played her cards quite close to her chest, up until now, which you will see. This has been a fun couple of chapters to write. Definitely didn't go how I thought initially, but I am happy with how this one has turned out.

**Marge** – Hermione's emotions are a result of her life experiences. Not only has she experienced significant trauma in her life, but she has just had everything turned upside down, her marriage, her life, her trust, her job… Her whole life has changed and, in my opinion, it is absolutely acceptable that someone in her position would be 'irrationally angry' or 'crude and infantile'. If you took the time to check out my profile, you'd see that I am also in my 30s, so Hermione is exactly in my age group, give or take 2 years. As I have said before, this story could very well follow from the end of DH. Granted, it is not epilogue canon, but still does not change the pre-epilogue story at all.

**Shinee's Hyperman** – In a way, Hermione has had to reassure herself that she has moved on, but its so clear that she hasn't. It has clearly affected her deeply, which is why she acts out in the ways that she does. Hopefully from here on, we see a different, levelheaded side to our Hermione.

**Goose** – You're right about Ron. He is the 6th and 'least loved' son who has always lived in the shadows of everyone else. In _this_ story, he is a bored man in his 30s who has hit a rut. This chapter reveals more about who he was at the time and I hope it makes you understand a little more. Dramione fan fics are usually a result of people having that 'bad boy' desire. Draco is certainly the bad boy. But remember, this story takes place 17 years after the war. That is a long time for people to change. And this Draco has changed… a lot.

The rest - Thank you for reviewing! Keep them coming.

I think the end is near.


	13. Chapter 13

Hermione led the way back to the dancefloor via the bar with Vivienne in tow.

As they made their way, unseen, through the crowd, Hermione wondered if the advice she had given this young girl was productive. If she decided to follow through, she would ruin Ron's life.

Ron had been so many things to Hermione in her life. Friend, confidant, boyfriend, lover, husband, father to her children. Yes, he had become complacent in all of that, allowing his efforts in their marriage to slide and seeking comfort elsewhere, but it was this moment where Hermione realised, he was still Ron Weasley, the boy who had dirt on his nose on the train on the first day of their first year. The same Ron who defended her against, primarily, Malfoy throughout school. The same Ron who laid beside her during the war, whispering promises into the night, holding her hand as she wept in fear for their lives.

"Can you give me a minute?" Hermione asked Vivienne as she stopped.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, I think I need to have a conversation with Ron. You know, set the record straight. I should have told him about my new relationship. It was unfair of me to urge you to break it off with him" she said.

"I suppose you're right" she said, taking a seat at a nearby table.

Hermione looked over to the crowd and saw Malfoy chatting with someone but looking her way. She gestured for him to come over and he did.

"Vivienne and I have had a bit of a heart to heart in the bathroom" Hermione said as he snaked his arm around her waist. "And I think I need to have a talk with Ron" she added.

"You and Ron have history, that's fine. I'll keep this one company" he said.

At this, Hermione haltered, fearing for a moment that leaving her new boyfriend with the woman her husband cheated on her with, wasn't such a good idea.

Malfoy leant to her, kissing her on the cheek and paused to whisper in her ear, "I like them my own age don't worry", resulting in a smile from Hermione.

She turned and left, heading towards the VIP section to find Ron. True to form he was sitting in a corner with a sour look on his face, drinking.

When she approached, he looked at her expectantly.

"Can we talk?" she asked.

He gestured for her to sit.

"Somewhere private?" she added.

He smiled, a smile she knew well when they used to sneak off in their 20s.

"Merlin Ron, I actually mean, I want to talk… you have a girlfriend" she said as she led him to a quiet area of the bar.

She found a spot that wasn't out of sight, but where the loud music had not penetrated that significantly, and sat down at an abandoned table.

"What is this all about Hermione?" he asked.

"Firstly, I want to apologise to you. I should have told you about Malfoy and I" she said.

"Still calling him Malfoy?" Ron asked.

Hermione pondered this for a moment before realising that she had never actually called him by his name. Odd. She would have to think about that some other time.

"To you yes" she said.

"Why him?" Ron asked after a pause.

"What do you mean?" she said.

"Look at you Hermione. You could have moved on with anybody, but you chose the one person who made everyone's life hell in school" he said.

"That's exactly why Ron. It was in _school_. He's changed" she said.

"That's what he says. Until he makes you fall for him and has you joining his dark…" Ron began.

"Stop" Hermione interrupted. "Its been 17 years since the battle. That's a long time Ron, and he's changed. He fights for muggle rights now, he devoted his entire career to it. He is actually a really nice guy" she said.

"So… he changed. Woop-de-doo. Still doesn't explain, why him?" Ron said.

"I don't know Ron. Why Vivienne?" she asked.

"Because she was there" he said.

"Exactly. Because Malfoy was there, and you weren't. Because he took the time to talk to me after a year and a half of me being lonely. Because he was _nice_ to me." she said, holding back strange tears that threatened to betray her strength in this moment.

"I was nice to you" he said.

"Once upon a time you were. Yes", she said.

"Then I wasn't" he said.

"I know" she said.

"Hermione, I'm sorry" he said.

"What about Vivienne? Are you sorry to her?" Hermione asked.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"You cheated on her, with me. You were rude, drunk and possessive, of _me_ at the game. She is really upset by that Ron" she said.

"You've been talking to her?" he asked.

"I have" she said.

"What did you tell her?" he asked.

"Only the truth. That we had a happy life once. That she ruined everything and that we slept together a couple of months back" Hermione said.

"You told her that?" he asked.

"That we slept together? She asked. And I answered truthfully" she said.

At this, Ron stood up and ran his hand through his hair. Hermione recognised this as a sign of Ron freaking out.

"Why would you do that Hermione? You will ruin everything" he cried out.

"No Ron, _YOU _ruined everything. _WE _had everything once. All you had to do was tell me you didn't love me. There was no need to lie, cheat and manipulate me into staying for another 2 years all while you were still with her. She told me everything Ron" Hermione said.

"I NEVER stopped loving you Hermione! He yelled.

"Sure felt like it" she responded. "How can you love someone and treat them like that?" she asked.

"I was bored. I was trapped in a life that was only getting more and more boring. I needed something more. I needed excitement. We nothing to look forward to Hermione. Nothing to do next. I was drowning in the rut that we had found ourselves in" he said, finally saying all the things she needed to hear. The why.

"You could have just told me Ron. Things could have changed. We could have changed. We could have done other things. We could have gone places. The kids are going to Hogwarts, we could have packed up and travelled the world" she said.

"So, lets do it then" he said, sitting beside her.

"What?" she asked, shifting in her seat so he wasn't touching her.

"Come on Hermione, me and you, lets get back together. We'll be a family again, you me and the kids. We'll make the most of the rest of the summer and then when they go off to Hogwarts, we'll both sell up, pack a bag and leave. Travel to America. You always wanted to, remember?" he said, sounding excited.

"Ron…" she began, feeling sad that he was laying this all out there. She had to tell him no, but it had to be kind. He was pouring his heart out to her. "I can't do that" she said.

"You can't travel?" he asked.

"I mean, I don't want to" she said.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because I'm with Malfoy… Draco. I'm with Draco now" she said. "And you're with Vivienne" she added.

"I think she's going to leave me" he said.

"I think she might" Hermione said.

"What do I do then?" he asked. "Now I'll have no one" he added.

"That's not true. You still have your friends, your family. You can talk to Vivienne, try and make her understand?" Hermione said.

"She's young Hermione, even if I can get her to stay now, do you think she'll want me in 5 years when I'm about to be 40 and she's still in her 20s?" he asked.

"You never know, Ron. Be brave. That's what relationships are about. You're putting your feelings, your heart, your trust in another person, that they wont stomp all over them. You've done that to Vivienne tonight. You know?" she asked.

"I know" he said.

"So why are you here, asking me to go away with you? Ask her. Apologise to _her._ Me and you are good now Ron. If you want Vivienne, make her see that. If not, put her out of her misery now, before its too late" Hermione said, standing up and turning to walk away.

"Thanks Hermione" he said.

She just shrugged and headed towards where she had left _Draco _and Vivienne.

It certainly felt strange to Hermione to say his name, even in her head. He had always been Malfoy to her, but now they had declared their feelings to one another, it felt strange to call him by the name she had called him when she would declare her hatred for him.

She reached the spot where she had left them and found them deep in conversation about muggles. She would have to ask him what they were chatting about later, because as soon as she approached, they stopped.

"So, what happened?" Vivienne asked her, eyes wide.

"Ron loves you; I can tell. I get the feeling that if you forgive him, this one last time, he will make you happy" Hermione said.

"But the things you said in the bathroom…" she started.

"Were wrong. Those things were based on anger. Now I know the truth, from Ron's own mouth. Give him one last chance. He knows how badly he messed up and he wants to make it up to you" Hermione said.

"ATTENTION… ATTENTION…" came a booming disembodied voice that made everyone look around.

"That's Ron's voice" Vivienne said, turning in every direction.

Hermione turned and saw Ron walking towards them and held her breath. She instinctively stepped in front of Draco.

"I KNOW I'VE BEEN AN ASS AND THAT IS WHY I'M DOING THIS" Ron's voice continued as he reached where they stood.

"I'VE HURT YOU MORE THAN YOU DESERVE AND I WANT THIS OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE IT UP TO YOU" He continued, standing in front of where Hermione and Vivienne stood side by side.

At first, Hermione thought he was talking to her. He initially looked in her direction, but as he spoke, he stood directly in front of Vivienne and talked directly to her.

"I KNOW I DON'T DESERVE IT, BUT I WANT YOU TO FORGIVE ME…. VIVIENNE…" he said, bending one knee and placing it on the ground before pulling a diamond ring out of his pocket, "WILL YOU MARRY ME?" he finished.

The whole place was silent. Even the music had stopped. Every eye in the club was on Ron and Vivienne as she stared at him with wide eyes.

Hermione backed away, desperate to distance herself from what was about to happen. She had no way of predicting which way this would all go, but she certainly didn't want to be around for the aftermath if it went badly.

"Yes" came a small voice, almost a whisper into the dark, before it was followed by cheers from the whole club.

The couple were lost in crowds of well-wishers and people who wanted to congratulate the couple. Hermione took Draco by the hand and led him away.

"Wow, didn't see that coming, did you?" he asked.

"You know what, I sort of didn't" she said, wondering why he would propose to her only minutes after begging Hermione to come back to him.

"You know the best thing about this?" Malfoy said after she had been silent for a minute.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Now he has no need to carry on like a raging lunatic when he sees us together" Draco said.

"Do you know what he said to me just before?" she asked.

"What did he say?" Draco asked.

"He asked me to go back to him. To be a family with him and the kids till they go to school and then he wanted to travel with me" she said.

"He was afraid" Draco said.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"He finally realised that you were no longer an option for him. Until now, you've been available to him, should he have wanted to come back to you…" he said.

"Wait…." Hermione interjected.

"In his mind, I mean. Not in reality. In his mind, you've been just pining for him, waiting for him to come back to you to be a family again. As soon as he saw you with me it was like it sparked some fear in him that made him go all crazy and want to go back to what was safe" Draco said.

"So, you're saying… I have always been Ron's safe option? And now that I'm not, he freaked out" she asked.

"Absolutely"

"So you're a psychologist now too?" she asked, smiling.

"No, I just see it from his perspective, I guess. Now that you're completely not an option, it only makes sense that he asked her to marry him. Now she can't leave him" he said.

"Well, she can" Hermione said.

"But she won't" Draco said.

"Why do you think that?" she asked.

"Look at her. She's smiling from ear to ear. She's completely forgiven him and now she has everything she ever wanted" he said.

"Hmm, you're probably right" Hermione said.

"Are you upset?" Draco asked, sensing some kind of hesitation from Hermione.

"Upset? No. It's just… I don't know actually. Imagine if I had agreed to take Ron back? If I had sat with him over in that corner and said yes to his request to be a family again. But not two minutes later, he's on bended knee for someone else? I just don't understand, that's all" she said.

Draco sighed and moved closer to Hermione, cupping her face in his hand.

"He's just a frightened man, that's all" Draco said.

"Are you?" Hermione asked.

"Frightened?"

"Yes"

"I'm terrified" he answered.

"Of what?" she asked.

"Of how I feel about you. Admitting it, not only to you but to myself. Now that it's out there, it's a little scary. The things you could do to me now…" he said.

"I would never…" she said.

"I know you wouldn't… But if something were to happen…" he said.

"Because of what happened to Astoria?" she asked.

"That is probably why, yes. I have only loved a few people in my life Granger. Two of those were taken from me, one before I could even meet her" he said.

"I promise, nothing will happen to me" she said.

"You can't promise that" he said.

"I can try?" she answered.

Draco just looked into her eyes, staring at her for what could have been hours, but was more likely to be a few seconds. He leant forward and kissed her in a way he had never kissed her before. Gone was the urgency and passion that most of their kisses had consisted of previously, but it didn't make it less of a kiss. In fact, it made it more. She felt all of his words in that moment. She felt his desperation, his fear, his hunger for something more. In that moment, she wanted to give him all of that. She wanted him to feel safe and loved in her arms, to feel like she wouldn't leave him, not if she could help it.

"I love you" she said for the second time that night after the kiss ended. And she meant it.

"I love you too" he said, kissing her on the forehead.

"Do you want to go?" she asked.

"If you do" he said.

She took him by the hand and led him towards the disapparation point.

"Don't you want to say goodbye to Ginny?" he asked.

Hermione looked over to where Ginny was dancing with Harry.

"No, she's having fun" Hermione said.

"So are we" Draco said to her.

"Not yet we aren't, but we will be" Hermione said, arriving at the empty queue to disapparate.

"Is that so?" he asked, taking her by the hand.

"Yep" she answered.

"So, my place or yours?" he asked, causing Hermione's smile to falter. "My apartment, I meant" he said.

"The Manor…?" she asked.

"Is gone. Sold" he said.

"I'm sorry, what? When?" she asked.

"So my place it is?" he asked.

"Yes, but I want to know" she said.

"You will" he said, pulling her with him into oblivion.


	14. Chapter 14

Hermione opened her eyes when she felt her body come to a halt. She was standing in what appeared to be the living room of quite a large modern apartment, still holding tight to Draco.

She looked around at the room at the furnishings and modern fixtures and was slightly in awe.

"It's not much…" Draco said.

"It's lovely" she said.

"You think?" he asked.

"It's a little 'museum' but I like it. Its very _you_" she said.

"Well, technically it's a hotel, but its home, for now" he said. "Come, I'll show you the rest of the apartment" he continued.

Hermione kept hold of his hand as he led her around the apartment. She wondered briefly why he lived in a hotel but remembered he had travelled a lot and was a bachelor. He could live wherever he wanted, for as long or as little as he wanted.

"So where in Britain are we exactly?" she asked, as he led her through a door into a tidy kitchen.

"We're in the heart of London" he said. "The Four Seasons Penthouse" he added.

Hermione made her way over to the window and looked out at the city. The lights were shining, and the view was incredible.

"The view is even better from the rooftop" he said, "I'll take you up there, later" he said.

"So you live in a hotel?" she asked, looking across to the London Eye.

"Well, I've travelled a lot, you know, for work, so never really settled down in any one place. I have an account with the Four Seasons and have stayed in almost all of their luxury penthouse apartments" he said, wrapping his arms around her from behind. "I'll take you to them all" he added.

This made Hermione sad. She thought about the future and realised that, unless they travelled within the next three weeks, there would be no time to see all the places he wanted to take her to. She was beginning to regret her decision to teach at Hogwarts.

"You're thinking too much" he said when she was still quiet.

"I'm sorry, I can't help it" she said, pulling out of his embrace and moving to the comfy couch that stood in the middle of the main room.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I know we've been over this before, but I'm about to have a very full schedule. Teaching, looking after a thousand children, spending time with my own children. Its just not going to be possible" she said.

"And like I told you time and time again, we'll just make the most of the times we _do_ get. There will be sneaky weekends, afternoons, evenings. I can come to you, you can apparate to me. The only way it wont work is if one of us gives up" he said.

"Well, I'm not going to give up… But…" she said.

"But nothing Granger. Just trust me. Have a little faith. And if you cant do that, just take it as it comes" he said.

"Que sera sera?" she asked. When he looked confused, she added, "Whatever will be will be?" she said.

"Exactly" he answered.

"How about you show me the rooftop?" she asked.

"I was thinking of peeling you out of those clothes and showing you the bedroom" he said with a mischievous grin on his face.

Hermione stood from the couch and took Draco's hand as he led her to the bedroom.

Hermione smiled in post-orgasmic bliss as she caught her breath in the king size bed of the Penthouse sweet in the Four Seasons Hotel in London. Draco was using the phone to call room service, something Hermione was excited for, as she hadn't eaten yet.

"You know, I could get used to this" she said.

"The room service, or the sex?" he asked, rolling back over and enveloping her in his arms.

"Hmm, both" she said.

"Well, you can have both whenever you want" he said.

"Yeah, I'll just turf the kids off to the Weasleys and come over everyday" she said.

"Bring them" he said.

"Where? Here?" she asked.

"Sure, why not?" he asked.

Hermione thought about this. Was she ready to introduce her kids to him? Were they ready to see their mum happy with another man? They seemed ok with Ron and Vivienne, so why not her?

"I guess so" she said, snuggling into his chest.

They laid this way for a while, neither of them speaking. Hermione was happy. Truly happy. She had decided not to think about what might happen once she was working at Hogwarts and allow herself to enjoy the moments.

She was thinking about the moments they had shared so far. The flirtatious build up to the dates, her living room, her bedroom, her kitchen, the club… She was remembering how amazing he made her feel, each time he touched her. He had this way of giving her goose-bumps just with the slightest touch. She was remembering these, when he spoke.

"I have to ask you something that's been on my mind for a while" he said suddenly.

"That sounds ominous" she said.

"It sort of is" he said.

"Ok, go ahead" she said, lifting herself up onto one elbow.

"I've held off because I guess I was afraid or I suppose I was hopeful maybe. I don't know. But we've never had the discussion about contraception" he said.

"Right" she answered.

"I mean… I suppose I should have bene using muggle condoms or using the spells but every time has been so incredibly intense that its just slipped my mind" he said. "I'm guessing you're using the spells or the muggle pill or something" he continued, looking nervous.

"I feared this conversation, I really did" she said, wondering how she would tell him that she hasn't actually been using contraception at all.

"You did?" he asked.

"Draco, I haven't used contraception either" she said, sitting up, cross legged.

At this, his face was still. She couldn't figure out if he was in shock, if he was happy, sad, confused or just stunned.

"I don't understand. You want to have a baby?" he asked.

"No, that's not it at all" she said. "I don't want you thinking any less of me, I haven't told you because I thought maybe you'd run for the hills. I know what you've been through and I know there are some things I suppose you'd expect but… Merlin…" she said, wondering how to tell him.

"What is it?" he asked, looking concerned now.

"I can't get pregnant" she said.

"Can't?" he asked.

"Can not" she said.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, I told you about the birth of the triplets, how it was traumatic and there were complications, right?" she said.

"Yeah, but I thought it all worked out ok. You were unwell, but ok?" he asked.

"I lost a lot of blood and they didn't know where the bleeding was coming from. Ron was so busy with the babies and the doctors were concerned because we had lost one of them, they didn't get to me quickly I suppose. They stitched me up but there was a lot of scar tissue. The doctors said that if I ever got pregnant, it would be a miracle. They said less than one per cent chance of me ever falling pregnant" she said, sadly.

"But not zero?" he asked.

"No, I suppose not, but I have not used protection since the babies were born and so far, have not fallen pregnant" she said.

"Should we be using precautions?" he asked.

"Well, I don't think so. The doctors were pretty clear" she said.

Before Draco could respond, there was a knock at the door.

"That would be the room service, he said, climbing out of bed and throwing on some pants that sat low on his hips.

"I wouldn't answer the door like that" Hermione said, looking him up and down.

"Why?" he asked.

"For one, you have love bites all over your chest… and two, if it's a straight woman or a gay man at the door, the poor thing may actually melt" Hermione said.

Draco just looked down and shrugged.

"So, I suppose they'll melt then" he said with a smile that didn't touch his eyes.

While he was gone, Hermione thought about their conversation. He seemed upset almost, that she couldn't fall pregnant. _Of course he did, he probably wants a family of his own, _she thought. After all the happiness, the conclusion that she would take this relationship as it came, allow herself to be happy and content, she was suddenly very aware that there was something she could not give him, something that he was biologically programmed to desire.

She was not enough. Her body was faulty and could not give him the things he needed.

When he arrived back, she had tears in her eyes. She had fallen head over heels in love with him, mind, body and soul and this night would either make them or break them.

The tray of food looked delicious, but Hermione no longer felt like eating.

"Eat something" he said.

She picked at a sandwich but couldn't hide her emotions.

"Do you want children?" she asked.

"Well… I suppose, but…" he said.

"So you do want children, some day?" she asked.

"I want you" he said.

"But I can't give you children" she said.

"You have children"

"You know what I mean" she said, more abruptly than she intended.

"Fine. Yes, I want children. I would love to have a baby of my own. I'd love someone to continue the Malfoy name, to teach the things I learnt all on my own. To give all my money to when I'm gone" he said.

"And I can't give you that" she said.

"No, you can't" he said.

"So, that's it then?" she asked.

"What's it?" he asked.

"Us. I can't give you the things you need. I don't even know if I want another baby even if I could" she said.

"You give me everything. You're everything to me already" he said.

"I…" she began.

"Look, I told you tonight that I love you, and I mean that. I would love to have a baby, but I'm also realistic. I believe that everything happens for a reason. Everything happens the way it's supposed to. If we were meant to have a baby together then we would. We will" he said.

"I just… I don't want to be in our 50s and have you look back and resent me because I couldn't give you a child" she said.

"Why does it always have to be this way? Can we ever just have a nice evening? I told you. Yes, id like a child that is biologically my own, but if it doesn't happen, that's ok. Why does every event we have need to turn into a catastrophe?" he asked.

"I… I'm sorry, I just… I don't know" she said, feeling annoyed with herself. "I should go. I'll go" she added, getting off the bed and hastily putting her clothing on. She felt like getting dressed quickly was a new thing for her. First with Ron and now this.

She left the bedroom and collected her bag and her shoes from the living room. He hadn't followed her.

With tears spilling from her eyes and not a second glance at Draco, she turned on the spot and soon found herself arriving in her bedroom.

Hermione laid on her bed and allowed the foreign tears to spill. They flowed more heavily than they ever had. Her body betrayed her. She loved Draco and wanted him to have all the things that he wanted and for him to brush his desires off so easily, made her feel uneasy.

A person doesn't just stop wanting the things they have wanted forever. Draco had always been about family, regardless of it was the pureblood ways or not, even back in school, she knew that his desires were to have a son of his own to guide and mentor through life.

She laid on her bed and thought some more. She thought about the conversation they had before she left. He wasn't actually upset about the fact that she couldn't have a child. He was upset because, as usual, Hermione had turned what was a beautiful evening, into drama.

She wondered how she had become so emotionally immature. She was always so level-headed, so strong willed. She wasn't ever one to bring unnecessary drama to anything. She was the drama fixer, if anything.

How had her life become one drama after another? She felt like she had completely lost touch of her emotions, of her reactions, of her moods. She loved Draco, yet every time they were together, she found a way to jeopardise it.

She closed her eyes and begged sleep to come, but as hard as she tried, it evaded her.

She watched the clock, she counted sheep, she drank warm milk, but still, hours later, nothing.

She took her phone from where it had been in her handbag, at around 3 in the morning. There were a few texts from Ginny, thanking her for coming, asking where she went, telling her to be safe and to have a good night.

Hermione scrolled to the last text from Draco, which she had received that night. She tapped a new text.

H-D – Draco, I'm sorry. I know I mess everything up every time and I'm sorry. I just can't see a future for us if I can't give you what you need. I love you more than you could know but I'm giving you this opportunity to get out before its too late.

She hit send as fresh tears flowed down her face. She was giving up her chance at happiness so that he could have his. It wasn't long before she received a text back.

D-H – Noted. I appreciate the opportunity, but I decline. You are everything to me already.

Hermine smiled.

H-D – Are you sure?

D-H – Yes I'm sure. Now please come back.

Hermione didn't need to thing about it. She got dressed and picked up her bag, thinking about the best place to apparate to. She thought about going directly into the penthouse apartment but thought he might have wards up. As she was about to apparate to London's main street, she quickly realised that she was able to disapparate out, so shed give it a go at getting in. She thought hard about the bedroom she had left hours before, and turned on the spot.

She screwed her face up, fearing the worst, but she soon relaxed as she arrived in one piece.

Draco was in the bed, with the TV on.

"Couldn't sleep?" she asked, taking off her jeans and climbing into the bed beside him.

"No, I kept thinking about the stupid things I said" he said.

"You didn't say anything stupid, I did. I am the worst girlfriend ever. I worry about everything and dramatize everything. I'm like a teenager. My head is all over the place and I'm sorry" she said.

"Its not your fault. We're just find out how to be together, that's all. It will all work out, I promise. I've even thought about the baby thing…" he said.

"Let's not…" she said.

"Well, I'll just say this… If there comes a time when we think we should combine our DNA and make a baby, there are loads of options. Surrogacy, IVF, hormone injections… But I am happy with you. I love you Granger. And I'm certain that no matter what happens, I've struck gold just because you love me back" he said.

Hermione was happy with this. She kissed him, placing as much love as she could into her lips, while keeping them soft and sweet. His hands travelled down her body, giving her the goose-bumps she loved so much. She kissed him more deeply as his hands found her backside. He lifted her, pulling her to him, so she was straddling him, and she could feel him hard against her.

Hermione moved her hips so that he was pressing against her just the way she liked it and in reward, he let out a moan of pleasure. _This is going to be easy_ she thought.

Earlier that night, their encounter had taken a long time, she had languished in every moment, felt every touch, every kiss. Now it had to be different. She would make it quick.

She removed her underwear quickly and clenched her muscles as she lowered herself onto him, eliciting more moans from him. She didn't pause to take in the moment, she moved her hips quickly, gaining momentum and developing a rhythm easily.

Within seconds, she found herself being flipped so she was no on her back and he had hold of her hips as her legs wrapped around him. She closed her eyes as he thrust into her and she relished in the feelings of his hands roughly gripping her flesh.

He let go and held onto the top of the bed frame while he continued pounding into her. It was rough and it was fast, but Hermione found the familiar heat rising in her lower abdomen quickly.

She felt him deeper inside her this way than before and as his body slammed against hers. She dug her nails into the skin on Draco's back as she saw stars and they both came together.

It had been quick, but intense and when Draco laid beside her, she kissed him sloppily on the lips and closed her eyes.

**AN - working on another chapter today. Have been super busy with work. **


	15. Chapter 15

**AN- Big surprise at the end of this chapter...**

Hermione spent the next few days texting back and forth with Draco.

They had agreed that she would tell her children about him on the Wednesday and they would meet him on the weekend.

After spending Monday and Tuesday anxiously filling their time with fun activities, Hermione sat them down on Wednesday night and spoke with them.

"So I know you two are grow up enough to understand so I'm just going to tell you straight" she said across the dinner table.

"I don't like the sound of this" Rose said, looking to Hugo.

"Yeah me neither" he added.

"Merlin, its nothing bad, just something you need to know. So, while you both have been spending time with your dad and at your Nans, I've spent time with some new friends…. One friend in particular, really" she said.

"You're dating someone?" Rose asked.

"Well… Yes. Yes I am" Hermione answered.

"What's his name?" Hugo asked.

"Draco"

"Draco? As in… The guy that dad told us about from your Hogwarts days?" Rose asked.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"Dad told us of this horrid boy at school who used to bully you" Hugo said.

"Well, I suppose he did, but that was a very long time ago and people can change. Draco was not a very nice boy, but he grew up to be a lovely man" Hermione said.

"Well, mum, as long as you're happy, I'm happy" Rose said.

"I don't know about this. I'll have to think about it. If he was horrible to you as a teenager, why would he be any different now?" Hugo asked.

"Things were very different back then Hugo. It was hard to resist things you had been told your whole life, just as Draco had been. It wasn't till he saw things differently that he was bale to realise how wrong he had been" Hermione said.

"Its ok mum, Hugo is just going by what dad says to us" Rose said.

"Well, what did your dad say to you?" she asked.

"He told us all about your boyfriend" Hugo said.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"Well, mum, we sort of knew something was up. You've been acting differently lately and then on Sunday when we were at Nans, dad came by and told us he's engaged. I was worried about you, but he said that you'd be ok because you had a boyfriend too" Rose said.

"Dad said that pretty soon, you're going to forget about us and you'll be all about this new man. You'll probably have another baby and once we're at Hogwarts, it will be like we never existed" Hugo said.

"Oh, that's silly. I'm sure your dad didn't mean those things. You both are my number one priority. It doesn't matter who comes in or out of my life, you two are always the first thing I think of in the morning and the last thing I think of at night" Hermione said, feeling rage build inside her at what Ron has said to the children.

"So you wont just abandon us for him?" Hugo asked.

"No way. Never" she said, reaching her hand across the table for his.

"The three of us are going to Hogwarts together in 2 and a half weeks. If I do see him, it will be during the times when you are both busy. That's all. He is not my priority" Hermione said.

"Do you love him?" Rose asked.

This question threw Hermione. She knew she loved him, but was she ready to tell her children that? She knew that honest was the best way to go, especially with Rose. Rose seemed to just know things anyway, so she told them the truth.

"Yes, I do. I actually do. He's lovely and treats me the way I feel like I ought to be treated" she said.

"Does he know?" Rose asked, smiling.

"Know what?" Hermione asked.

"Know you love him?" Rose said.

"Well, yes he does. And he told me he loves me too" Hermione said.

"So when do we meet him?" Hugo asked.

"When you feel ready to meet him. If you want to, we can organise for it to happen whenever you want. But if you're not ready, then you don't have to meet him at all" Hermione said.

"I want to meet him" Hugo said, crossing his arms and frowning in a way that very much reminded her of his father.

"Me too" said Rose, only, her demeanour was soft and happy.

"Great, well, this weekend, we can all go out for ice cream" Hermione said.

8888888888888

Saturday approached quickly, preceded by many conversations with both of the children about Draco. Hugo had come to terms with his mum being with someone other than his dad but was still not one hundred per cent convinced that Draco was not a death eater. He was truly Ron all over.

They caught the bus to the city and it was a short walk to the ice cream shop from the bus stop. Hermione didn't normally use magical methods of travel with her children so the bus was something they were all used to. Draco had tried to convince her to let him pick them up but she thought it would be better to meet him there.

They walked into the shop and Draco was already there, dressed nicely, which made Hermione squirm. She walked to the table he was sitting at, followed by her children and greeted him with a kiss on the cheek. She so desperately wanted more, she wanted him to touch her, she wanted to feel his warm hands on her body, but she knew that if this was to work, especially with Hugo, it would have to be slow.

"Draco, this is Rose…"

"Lovely to meet you" Draco said, shaking her hand gently.

"And this is Hugo"

"Nice to meet you young man" Draco said, shaking Hugo's hand in a more masculine manner. Huge seemed t appreciate it.

"Its lovely to meet the man who's making our mum so happy. Isn't it, Hugo?" Rose said, with an elbow into Hugo's ribs.

"Yeah, sure" he said, eyeing off the ice cream display.

"Lets get some ice cream, shall we?" Hermione asked, feeling nervous as anything.

The children pressed their faces against the glass as they examined every flavour in turn. When Hugo couldn't make up his mine, Hermione interjected.

"Hugo, just choose one and be done with it" she said.

"How about you have two scoops mate? My treat" Draco said.

Hermione looked to Draco and smiled. _Tick_. She thought. The way to Hugo's heart is through his stomach for sure. He was Ron's child after all.

Within ten minutes, the four of them had selected their flavours and their add ons, courtesy of Draco and his muggle credit card. The children were grinning from ear to ear as they slurped up their double scoop ice creams complete with toppings of lollies and treats.

They left the store and walked a very short distance to the park next door, which had a wooden table and chairs.

Hermione made certain to sit beside Draco, leaving Rose and Huge sitting next to each other across the table form them both. Hugo stared intently at Draco, in a manner that Hermione interpreted as confusion.

"So, Hogwarts is coming up. Are you both excited?" Draco asked.

"I am, I can't wait to be able to use magic and learn how to do all the things that I see adults doing with their wands" Rose said.

"I want to fly. For real, not just hover on the stupid brooms at Nans house" Hugo said.

Hermione grinned. Another thing for Draco to talk with Hugo about. She was still hopeless at flying and rarely engaged in the topic.

"Well, you should both be rather happy because you can learn all of that and more in your first few days" Draco said. "I was already a pretty good flyer when I got to Hogwarts" he said.

"And a bit of a prat, I heard" Hugo said.

"Well, actually yes, I was. I was pretty nasty to a lot of people, but I think I've more than made up for it now" he said.

"So you admit to being a bully?" Rose asked.

"Of course. But its not till we can admit to the bad things we've done that we can begin to make amends and do things the right way. It took me a lot of years, but eventually I realised how horrible I was when I finally got into contact with your mum, I begged her to forgive me and she did" he said truthfully.

"Why don't we change the topic?" Hermione asked.

"Its ok, they're curious. It's only natural, I'm sure their dad has told them to be weary of me and I don't blame them. If they accepted me straight away I'd think something was wrong" he said.

"Well I don't" Hugo said.

"Yet" said Rose. "I actually think you're ok so far" She added.

"Why don't you tell them what broom you had in second year?" Hermione asked Draco.

"Well, in second year, my father bought the whole quidditch team Nimbus 2000s" he said with a chuckle.

"Nimbus 2000? That's so old. How could you even be proud of that?" Hugo asked.

"Well, back then, the nimbus 2000 was the best broom out" Draco said.

"But the firebolt was though, wasn't it?" Rose asked.

"Well, in third year, your uncle Harry had a firebolt. That was the fastest broom out at the time and is still pretty good now" Draco said.

"No way, the firebolt is nothing. Broomstick weekly says that The Cleansweep is making a comeback with the Cleansweep 2020 this year. Its meant to be faster than anything ever made" Hugo said.

"Well, back in our day, Cleansweep was an old slow broom" Draco said.

"They've changed owners. Its now owned by people who know what they're doing. Now old farts who just put out a new broom every year that's the same as the one before, just with a different name. This time, its better. Faster. Sleeker. I can't wait till I can own one" Hugo said, getting excited.

"Yeah right mister, those things will cost a year's wages. You can have a Nimbus when you're actually allowed to have one for school" Hermione said.

"Mum.. they're old" Hugo complained.

Draco just laughed.

"Let's see how your first year is and we'll see about getting you both something nice for second year" Draco said.

"So you're sticking around are you?" Hugo asked.

"If that's ok with you both" Draco said.

"I guess its ok. For now" Hugo said.

Rose just smiled, looking from Hugo to Hermione.

The group continued with their ice cream for a little while before anyone spoke again.

"Are you rich?" Rose asked Draco.

"Rose! You can't ask that" Hermione admonished.

"Well, he just made out like he was going to buy us both a good broom after you said it's a year's wages. He must be rich" Rose said.

"Its ok. Curiosity is a big thing… My family had a lot of money and when my parents died, they left it to me. I don't know what you mean by rich. If it means do I have a lot of money, the answer is yes, but there's more to being rich than having a lot of money" Draco said.

"Like what?" Hugo asked.

"Like happiness, family, love. You three have all of that. You've had it your whole lives. To me, that is far greater than all the money in Gringotts" he said.

"So you aren't happy?" Rose asked.

Hermione went to interject, but Draco smiled at her and continued.

"I wasn't. For a long time, I was very unhappy and didn't even know it. It wasn't till I saw your mum again and she was nice to me that I realised I had spent a long time being miserable. Your mum makes me happy" he said.

"And you make her happy too. We've seen it. Even before we knew she had a boyfriend… And… I guess… if she makes you happy and you make her happy, then you're ok by us" Hugo said.

Hermione got up and hugged both her children. She needed no words, but a group hug to show them what it meant for them to approve of her happiness with Draco.

"Ok mum, you're suffocating us" Rose said.

Hermione let go and sat back on her side of the table beside Draco.

"Can we go play?" Rose asked.

"Sure, go run amok" Hermione said.

For the next hour, Rose and Hugo played while Hermione and Draco said talking. They spoke about the awkwardness Hermione felt, talking about his money. She didn't want him for his money, and he knew that. The truth was, once he sold Malfoy Manor, he put the money into the Malfoy Vault at Gringotts and never looked at it again.

"Of course I will have to open it up again to buy a house some day, but I don't really even need to access the money. Any transfers, the goblins handle, but those are rare. I make enough to live the life that I live now" he said.

"Well, of course you do. There's no one like you in the world" she said.

"You were my only competition" he said, leaning over and kissing her.

"Ohh, that's why you had me fired then?" she asked, poking him in the ribs.

"Well, that and I couldn't fuck the brains out of my competition, could i?" he said.

Hermione blushed and looked around, "You can't say that" she said.

"Why not?" he asked, kissing her neck below her ear.

"Because someone could hear you. We're supposed to be having a nice day at the park" she said.

"You're right, I'm sorry. I'll fuck your brains out later" he said.

"Oh, you will, will you?" she asked.

"Well, I can come over now. They like me. I'm the rich guy who's dating their mum" he said with a grin.

"Well then, you best be over at 9pm then" she said.

The banter continued until the children returned from the playground.

"Draco is going to come over later tonight. Is that ok with you both?" Hermione asked the children.

"Sure. Doesn't bother me. He can stay as much as he likes. Vivienne lives at dads house and we didn't get a say in it, so a few sleep overs isn't going to matter to us" Rose said, having a big drink from her water bottle.

"Hugo?"

"Sure, I don't care" he said.

"Well, it was lovely meeting you both, but I have to go and get some work done" Draco said, standing up from the table and stretching his long legs out.

"See ya Drake" Rose said.

"Yeah, bye" Hugo said.

Hermione stood and reached her arms around him. She felt awkward doing this in front of her children but she couldn't resist.

"I'll see you later" she whispered.

He kissed her quickly on the lips and they pulled away from one another.

"See you later" he said, waving as he turned to walk away.

Once he was out of earshot, Hermione spoke with her children.

"Be honest, how was that?" she asked.

"It was the best. So sweet. If you're happy, I'm happy. As long as he doesn't turn out to e a serial killer" she said.

"Hugo?" Hermione asked.

"He seems ok. He's not a death eater anymore. I guess its good that you're happy. You were never like that with dad" he said.

"No, me and your dad sort of fell out of love at the end" she said.

"Will you fall out of love with Draco?" Rose asked.

"I hope not. As long as we talk about things and keep making each other happy then we'll love each other for a long time, I hope" she said.

"Are you going to get married, like Dad and Vivienne?" Rose asked.

"Gosh Rose, I have no idea. We've only been together a few weeks" Hermione said, laughing.

"But you love him and want to be with him for a long time. Why not get married?" she asked.

"Because he might not want to marry me?" Hermione said, thinking about the glaringly obvious reason in her mind as to why he wouldn't want to marry her – he wants a baby, she can't give him one without some serious intervention.

"We're just taking things as they come, ok? Now… the bus comes in twenty minutes so let's get ready to head off" she said.

The next week and a half went by quicker than Hermione had hoped. She spent the days with her children and every night, Draco would come over and they would have dinner together. Hermione made it clear to the kids as well as Draco that as soon as someone mentioned they weren't ok with the arrangement, it would cease.

Rose and Hugo spent the last few days before school with Ron and his family, and travelled with them to collect their books and things from Diagon Ally.

After talking with a real estate agent, she had had an offer on the house immediately, and accepted it. She didn't need the house just sitting there empty for most of the year and this way, it would be more acceptable around the muggle community that the children didn't attend the local high school with their friends.

The day before they were due to leave for Hogwarts, Draco helped Hermione pack all the things she didn't need into a storage container, shrink it and place it in the bottom of her trunk.

Hermione wandered around her house that was empty except for three trunks that sat in the living room. It was the first place she had owned by herself and it contained so many memories, despite only living there for a short time.

She was ready to leave. She was ready to take on this new adventure and see what life had in store for her.

She spent the night with Draco in the Penthouse Apartment at the Four Seasons and awoke the following day, feeling anxious but excited for the journey ahead.

She apparated alone to the outskirts of the castle and walked to the familiar entrance and through the corridors to meet with McGonagall. They discussed a three-year plan for Hermione to become headmistress and identified ways that Hermione could combine her parenting with her teaching and have time for Draco.

It was at this point where Hermione discovered that Draco had been offered the spot of Defensive Magic Professor. It had only been a few days in the works, and he had only accepted the previous day after wrapping up his other work commitments, but Hermione couldn't believe that everything had fallen into place.

Their classrooms had been rearranged so that they were beside each other and the wall between their sleeping quarters had been removed to allow them to share the space.

When nighttime fell, Hermione and Draco took their places at the Professors table where Neville also sat, having been made Herbology professor.

As the older students filed in, Hermione looked out to her nieces and nephews and smiled to them each, receiving smiles back. Even thought she was no longer their aunty by marriage, she had seen them grow up and didn't have any intention of forgetting them.

She had tears in her eyes as the first years entered the hall, all looking afraid. Even Rose, who had been excited in the lead up to the day, was looking afraid.

The students were sorted quickly and as expected; Hermione's children had been placed in Gryffindor.

After dinner she wrote a quick note to Ron, letting him know that they had settled in well and sent it with the twins' owl.

Overall, everything for Hermione had fallen into place. She laid beside Draco that night and smiled to herself.

This life was going to be a good one.

**AN- Surprise... This was the last chapter!**

**Thank you all for sticking around till the end!**

**If i feel like it, at some point there may be a sequel, but the way i have left this, i think it has ended on a high. **

**Please review this final chapter as you see fit. **

**Sorry for grammatical and spelling errors. I wanted to smash this out before i ran out of time. **

**Much love to you all. **


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